Trial by Q
by Splinter1
Summary: One of my "original" stories of my Dragon (Edward Barnes, but was unnamed in 2002). In this story, Edward discovers that he's in love with Seven after a mishap in his quarters. Janeway and Chakotay are temporarily relieved of command by Starfleet as well. Q and q pay a visit to the Voyager and in the process Edward becomes a Q. SERIES DISCONTINUED due to writer's block. *sigh*
1. Events, current and recent

Notes and stuff: Not really much to say here except that most of this stuff, while mine, borrows Paramount owned Star Trek: Voyager characters. We all know Paramount's stuff. Everything else is mine. .

This is a sequel to Dragon and Voyager and takes place in the 8th Season. ("Endgame" never occurred and Neelix had not left the ship.) 

Chapter 1 Prologue 

Personal log, Stardate 55000.0 Today marks another New Year's Day in the Delta Quadrant, and I pray it is the final one. I know that it is still at least 30 years or so from the actual border crossing, I can still hope. We've taken so many shortcuts that it still amazes me that we've come so far in so "short" of time. By all rights, we still should be another 62 long years away from home. Heck, if we still had Kes, she'd be an elderly woman by now or maybe dead from old age considering the Ocampan lifespan being so short. But, we still owe her a major debt. Her "kick" out of Borg Space saved our rears.

The crew, while normally not celebrating what is an Earth holiday, was encouraged by Neelix and I to take the time to celebrate the holiday. It was meant as a morale booster for the crew, who had been cooped up on the ship for several weeks and Neelix, picking up on the sagging morale, suggested the party in the mess hall and the Holodecks. Captain Janeway almost vetoed the idea, claiming that it was not proper for us to celebrate a strictly Earth holiday. A rather stern stare from me got her to back down before I gave her a rare chewing out. I was never one to conform to being "politically correct" and I was glad when America wizened up and remembered that the country had not been founded on the basis of being "PC". In fact, it was certainly "non-PC" to violently break away from England, a fact that latter 20th Century Americans remembered or even cared to. I made a few enemies back then with my objections to being politically correct and insisted on speaking my mind, but, again, a rather intense stare was enough to silence their complaints, at least in my presence.

Captain Janeway authorized the resumption of the Fair Haven program, much to the delight of the crew and the holo-residents, who knew that they were holographic characters after accidentally gaining limited sentience. The Fair Haven folks, being Irish, knew how to really celebrate the New Year, with classic Irish songs, lots of toastings and the obvious joy in Janeway's face seeing her holo-lover again. Since the Doctor forcefully reminded Kathryn that she could never have a true relationship with a crewmember, she had to settle for Michael's existence. He, in turn, was thrilled that "Katie O'Claire" had remembered him.

Baby Gabrielle is almost weaned off the Borg implants and no longer needs her mini-alcove. The Doc says that she will probably need some of the implants for another 6 months to a year before he can remove them. By the time she's two, she should no longer need the implants. His enhanced database from the Collective has shortened the amount of time for the implants' removal and he figures that they all can be removed, not just deactivated.

But, she's turning into a handful. A precocious child who definitely shows that she's knows that she's loved and shows personality traits from both Seven and myself. We've both sort of adopted the child and have taken many turns nurturing her. Seven, to her credit, "assimilated" the child-rearing materials I provided her and took them to heart. She will certainly make a fine mother someday if her destiny after we get home leads her to having children of her own...or if her nanoprobes don't destroy any embryos that are created. I do not know if Seven even had her 'monthly curse' or not. I haven't asked her, to be honest.

Icheb and Seven work well together now. Since Seven loosened the reins over a year ago, they've become close friends. With the other children back with their people, though, it's been quiet on board the ship.

The Borg have proven that they can honor an agreement, thank God. They usually send a sphere once a week to pick up and deliver messages, which is a far sight better than the official datastreams we get from Starfleet. The arrangement has worked out nicely, though. With the Collective considering the messages irrelevant to them, but, relevant to their ally in the Delta Quadrant, the probability that they will be read by a curious drone is practically nil. That frees Starfleets datastream for more sensitive stuff that the Collective doesn't "need-to-know" and would get their attention.

I still look at the hundreds of personal messages from various fleet Captains, Admirals and even civilians thanking me for halting the Borg threat. The best one, I still believe, was the message informing me that the Dominion War had ended. The Dominion, as I figured back then, would balk at a conflict where the Borg Collective could be contacted and the resulting mass-assimilation of Dominion forces were too much for the Founders to accept. They sued for and received a peace treaty which dealt out some harsh terms.

I spent days composing messages to all those who took the time to write. I couldn't face my conscience if I didn't reply to those who sent what could be the galactic record for personal mail calls. I even took the time to reply to several teacher's requests for a "tour" of Voyager. I enjoyed that function as it gave me the opportunity, along with the rest of the crew, to do some "Public Relations" work, and showed how a Starfleet crew worked with and co-existed with the Marquis. Many crewmembers and Officers took the time out of their day and/or duty shift to explain, in detail, what they did on board. Seven, understandably, refused to take part at first, but, I convinced her of the relevancy of showing that a drone could not only be detached from the Collective successfully, but, became human again. She agreed when I put it that way.

However, I am concerned about a possible action...Starfleet informed me that they might be considering bringing Janeway up on several charges, some of which are including breaking the Prime Directive. They'd reviewed her logs and found that there may be enough to at least hold a Board of Inquiry. That places me in a very bad position as I would be forced to convene one by regulations. However, I am not impartial any longer and I don't think that any of the crew are qualified enough to impartially judge the facts except for any of the Vulcans and possibly Seven herself. Seven could impartially judge facts before her disconnection from the Collective, but, I would hesitate to let her be an impartial "juror" for any events which she was involved in.

I am reviewing the important regulations in private and considering convening a Board of Inquiry and determining that, in my opinion, that there are not enough impartial people to see if Kathryn Janeway must face a court-martial. However, that is wrought with problems as there's no way I can sit there and determine that. Any first-year law student would tear that to shreds by saying that I am unfit to make such a determination, having been "trapped" on board since the Caretaker captured us nearly 8 years ago.

I could refuse to hold a hearing and make an official log notation to that effect, putting my neck on the chopping block, so to speak, with the Federation Council.

***

I wrapped up my daily "Dear Diary" and went in to check on Gabrielle.

Gabrielle had tacked on about 18 inches since she was transported from that cube over a year ago and over 12 kilograms of weight as well. Personally, I was pleased with her progress. The Collective had actually made amends without meaning to, and for that, I had gradually forgiven them for what they had done to her.

And, to be honest, I was surprised to see that the Borg were holding their end of the agreement up even after a year. Spheres and the once in a while Cube would stop and drop off messages from home. We would have messages ready for delivery and after about 5 minutes of data transfers, the Borg would depart.

The agreement has been beneficial, to say the least. There were a few scrapes that we'd gotten into that required a touch of Borg assistance...

**[Flashback]**

The Stardate was 54673.8 and we had somehow botched a first contact and were being attacked by a small fleet of hostile aliens. Our adaptive shielding hadn't adapted to the weapons fast enough and we were dead in the water, Janeway was actually looking worried as the ship was being attacked. Warp drive and impulse were offline, and weapons were shaky at best.

"Surrender, Voyager!" the enemy leader said, "We know that you cannot call for back-up. Give up now and we'll let you live."

Janeway merely looked at me and said, "I think it's time to pull our ace in the hole, don't you."

I nodded, "Yes, ma'am." I tapped my adaptive communicator in a special sequence and there was a odd sounding chirp. The link was virtually undetectable and even if it was intercepted, all the person would hear was a white noise type static.

"Dragon to nearest Borg vessel. We require assistance. We are under attack. We've suffered damage and are outnumbered. We are at spatial grid AG6874-452," I terminated the signal then and we waited.

Sure enough, a moment later, Ensign Kim reported, "A transwarp signature is being detected by sensors, 100 kilometers off the bow."

Another few seconds and a Battle Cube had emerged and issued their standard hail, but somewhat modified: "We are the Borg. The Federation vessel Voyager is under our protection. Cease your attack and prepare for assimilation. Resistance is futile."

I couldn't feel sorry for that fleet. If they had stopped their attack, I might have gotten the Collective to let them go in peace. However, their captain had more guts than common sense and directed an attack against the more heavily armed Cube.

Within 45 seconds, the fleet had been disabled and their ships were being pulled into the Cube. Their captain had time to get off a string of profanities at us before the link closed. The last thing that we saw of that captain was a Drone injecting nanoprobes into the poor guy's neck.

I shrugged my shoulders at Janeway, "He had his chance to escape to maintain his command."

Janeway nodded, "He did, indeed. But, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. Ensign Kim, how long until repairs are made?"

"We sustained heavy damage before the shields adapted. Transporters are offline for a day. Warp drive was heavily damaged and needs repairs done at a starbase, but, we can jury-rig it in a day. Impulse drive is down for at least three days."

I groaned, "Well, anyone have objections to some further aid from the Cube?"

There was none from the bridge crew.

I started to hit the communicator and before I reached it, there was a familiar, but still unsettling voice: "We are the Borg. We have detected that you have sustained heavy damage. Drop your shields and prepare to be boarded by repair Drones. Resistance is futile."

Leave it to the Borg to have scanned us and determined our trouble.

"Drop shields," Janeway ordered, "They're efficient as usual."

"Drones are on decks 5, 6, 9 and 12," Kim reported a moment later.

"Torres to the Bridge, what's going on?"

"Janeway here. Relax B'Elanna, the drones are going to speed the repairs to the engines and other things, then, they'll leave. I guess they figure that since they got about 1,500 new drones, they owe us."

"Well, I don't like it one bit. We've repaired damage much worse than this before," Torres groused.

"Objection noted. Bridge out," Janeway said, ending the discussion. I could just see Torres heading for the turbolift and appearing on the bridge a few moments later to give the Captain a piece of her mind.

Much to my surprise, that didn't happen at all. I raised an eyebrow at that development as I was certain that there was going to be an argument out of her. Maybe her marriage to Tom Paris was good for something beside shipboard gossip, I thought.

Instead of a full day basically drifting in space, the Drones had Voyager running again in about 2 hours. One Drone relayed the message that the shields had been enhanced to adapt quicker and that the engines were made as efficient as they would ever get with the technology the Borg had available to them. That translated to another year being shaved off the trip, assuming no real long delays.

The weapons had been enhanced as well and the Cube obliged a simple request for a few targets to be sent out. The phasers basically vaporized the targets and the torpedoes blew the targets apart easily.

Within 6 hours, the ship was good as new, the Drones transported off and the Cube was on their way to wherever the Queen wanted them. The Cube also relayed more messages that had come in during the last few weeks and relayed our own messages home.

Neelix, having assumed the role of mail clerk was busy delivering messages. Just that little act brought the morale to some very high points at times, but, also, of course, brought bad news sometimes. When that happened, the crewmember tended to seek me out as informal ship's counselor. I supposed that I was more suited for the role, given my "life-experiences".

The Doctor also received more data and we had to make a few more teraquads available for his matrix. With our logs going back to Starfleet now during the normal monthly datastreams, we could store the sent logs separately from the main computer, freeing up much needed space...and the Borg had even made that more efficient in their now routine visits. They had even installed more memory to the main computer and other storage devices. The Doc's holomatrix was now able to be fully backed up in case the original was damaged somehow. He would only lose about 12 hours of memories, but, with refresher information from Paris or anyone else, he'd be fine. He did, finally, accept a few personality modifications from later EMHs that had their programming assimilated and I snuck in a few modifications as well, mainly to lower his ego a bit. I had never thought I'd see an egomaniac hologram. I only did that to improve his bedside manner. But, I felt somewhat guilty about doing even that since, by all rights, he had achieved sentience. After those alterations, I made an official log entry stating that I was opposed to any further alterations to the Doc's programming unless he was the one that added them or gave his OK.

The Collective did, however, permit one of the enemy fleet's ships to escape. I figured that they beat a path back home, where word would soon get out that Voyager was not to be touched.

I knew, though, that this particular civilization was now on borrowed time.

I found out a few months later that the Collective had, indeed, assimilated those people. I couldn't let that bother me, though. If that foolish fleet captain had stood down when told to, his homeworld would still be there, full of individuals, not as a Borg world. But, that didn't prevent my conscience from giving me a twinge once in a while

[end flashback]

I was enjoying my time with Gabrielle when my door chime went off. "Come in," I said, "It's open."

The door opened to reveal Naomi Wildman there. She was just as precocious as Gabrielle, and with her rapid growth, I wasn't surprised at all.

"Hi," she said, "Mom wanted to know if it was OK for me to stay here for a while. Her and Neelix are taking part in an away mission for a few days."

I nodded, "Of course, Naomi. You know that you're always welcome here. I take it your mom doesn't want you to stay with Seven, huh?"

"Actually," she said, "Mom gave me the choice of Seven or you. Unfortunately, Seven's quarters don't exactly have room for a guest."

That was partially true. Seven could entertain a guest, but, the sleeping arrangements were interesting. If the guest was a Borg or a disconnected drone, it was fine, but a non-Borg would not enjoy trying to use a regeneration alcove.

"Well, how about we compromise a little," I said, "I know that Seven likes your company and she sometimes shares my duty shift. She's technically off-duty today, but, I suspect that she's in Astrometrics anyway or going over a lesson with Icheb."

"Seven did give me an assignment to do," Naomi said, "She wants me to go over the new warp core specs that the Collective installed a few months ago and see if there are either flaws in the design or improvements I could try."

I raised an eyebrow at that one. "Well, Naomi, you can use my computer terminal for this assignment. I hope that you find something of interest, but, I think Seven is testing you. She knows how efficient her Drone cousins are. There probably will not be any flaws or makeable improvements to the system."

Naomi looked disappointed for a moment, then looked over at Gabrielle, who was taking a nap in her crib.

"You may play with Gabrielle once she wakes up," I said, "But, you should also work at that assignment some. Seven will want to see your report soon, I suspect. I'll give you a hand on it, if you want."

She grinned at that possibility. She knew that I knew a considerable amount about warp drives and what-not. I had briefly considered being the chief engineer, but, realized that B'Elanna was more suitable for the position and, to be honest, we needed to get the two crews merged and placing her was a good decision by Janeway.

Actually, truth be told, I practically had to order Janeway to permit B'Elanna to be the chief engineer, but, that was a long time ago and the results had been very promising. She'd come a long way from that fairly angry half-Klingon woman I met during our first days in the Delta Quadrant when we all realized we had a long way to travel.

She still had flashes of temper, but, focused those energies into being a great Chief Engineer. I would certainly have recommended her to Captain Picard if we were still home. With our now being more than halfway there and approaching the fairly small corridor in the Beta Quadrant that separated the Alpha from the Delta, we were all beginning to feel that we were approaching the home stretch.

Also, I had noticed that her marriage to Tom Paris was a stabilizing factor in her life and her pregnancy had reached a successful birth of their daughter, Miral. Gabrielle certainly had a future playmate, even though the newborn is a quarter Klingon. But, I knew that Gabrielle would always carry some portion of Borg with her. Gabrielle still relied somewhat on nanoprobes at times and those little bots had proven their worth time and again in repairing Gabrielle's mini-implants and biological systems. The Doctor feels that as Gabrielle grows, she will lose her need for the nanoprobes and they could be removed. He and Seven had re-programmed them to only regenerate the remaining implants, not rebuild a full Borg outfit.

Naomi, however, was busy working on her report and doing a fair amount of research. I sat down and watched her for a while, not saying anything.

Actually, she was a good researcher and within an hour, she had located everything, asked me a few questions, asked the computer a few questions, however, my hunch proved correct in that Seven was testing Naomi. The Warp core was, indeed, as optimized as the Borg could make it.

Naomi wrote her report and I noticed that she was using Seven's more clipped, precise form of speech instead of a more natural writing style.

"Naomi," I said, "I know Seven appreciates this style of report, but, I feel that it needs a more Naomi type of feel to it, not an efficient drone. You're still a kid, Naomi, and I don't think Seven will mind too much if you add a few minor things here and there and can still be efficient. May I copy this to a second datapadd? That way, you still have this report, since you're done with it and we'll re-word the copy so we can decide which one looks nicer."

"Aww," she complained, "I like writing this way, though."

I gave her a hug, "It's OK, Naomi. I was only making a little suggestion. I don't mind that you prefer this way of writing." She grinned up at me and I knew I had avoided a crisis.

Well, I thought I had avoided one...Gabrielle woke up and I noticed that she had really filled her diaper.

"Pooh-pooh!" she cried.

I held my breath and walked over to her.

"I know, Gabrielle," I said gently, "let's take care of this, shall we?" Gabrielle merely sniffled as she held up her little arms to me. I picked her up and said to Naomi, "I'll be right back. I gotta take care of Gabrielle for a moment. Why don't you collect some of the t-o-y-s for you two?" I saw, out of the corner of my eye, that Naomi was holding her nose. I grinned slightly.

I walked into the bathroom and quickly collected the materials I would need. A few minutes later, Gabrielle had on a fresh diaper, the old one recycled and Gabrielle was one happy toddler.

Well, Naomi and Gabrielle kept each other entertained for a while as I finished some reports I had let slip for a while. Janeway would be wanting them on her desk before my next duty shift and that was quickly approaching.

"Dragon," Naomi said, "I'm getting hungry. Mind if I get something out of the replicator?"

"Well, I don't mind," I said, "But, you know Gabrielle will want some as well. I got enough rations to cover you two. Besides, I got a request from Neelix to cover the mess hall tonight. Since I'm one of the few people on board that can stomach Neelix's cooking without getting ill, I've probably got a good bit of rations stored up."

"Well, what do you have planned for the crew's dinner?" Naomi asked.

"I thought I would see if there were enough items to make an old Earth dish called lasagna. With my luck, Neelix doesn't have those in stock and I'll have to use my rations...or my command privilege."

"Neelix always says that the Captain needs to set the example for the crew," Naomi pointed out. She was right. I recalled Janeway's frustration when Neelix called her on the carpet a few weeks after we arrived here. I laughed when she bolted out of the mess hall at a minor summons from Chakotay. I sampled that thick, gooey "coffee" he made after Janeway left. I didn't have the heart to tell him that the stuff would cause major heartburn with the crew, who were not used to the stuff. I did suggest trying to dilute it with a little water and see what happened, though. That suggestion was met with a scoff from Neelix. I shrugged my shoulders, not wanting to belabor the point.

"You're correct, Naomi," I said, "Fortunately for the crew, I can make it from scratch and use only my rations for the things we don't have on board."

She beamed, pleased at herself for having beaten me at my own game. I grinned, letting her savor the victory to the fullest. I might be unbeatable in a battle most of the time, but, I am "man" enough to concede a small defeat without harming my ego at all.

I walked over to the replicator. "Computer, transfer recipe 'Dragon Italian 34' to the mess hall."

"Program transferred," the computer replied a second later.

I took a moment to explain to Naomi what that meant and she looked pleased.

"How about I save you some?" I asked.

"I'd like that a lot, Sir," she replied.

"Naomi, how many times have I asked you to call me Dragon when we're in here? I don't stand on formalities all the time. You know when I'm off-duty, I don't hold the crew to strict protocols. It makes the crew nervous knowing that most of the time, I'm an Admiral. It took a long time for them to realize that I'm pretty laid back when things are going well, but, can be pretty harsh when I must be."

"I know," she said, "I remember Ensign Paris trying to appeal his demotion. Mom was talking about it."

"Well, Mister Paris was a lucky man. He knew that the captain was about to destroy the Delta Flyer and changed her mind at the last possible second. I told him when I rejected his appeal that he should consider himself fortunate that I was not in command of the ship as he would have been in the brig for 90 days instead of the 30 days Captain Janeway imposed. I'm usually a lot harder on shipmates who intentionally disobey an order. Captain Janeway did consult me on a sentence as a courtesy and I told her that I would accept whatever she decided on."

I chuckled at the memory...Captain Janeway asked me to sentence Paris for his various infractions. I refused, telling her that it was still her command and that whatever she decided on would be acceptable with me. I did suggest the demotion and a brig term, but, let her decide the full sentence. Even I followed her "No visiting the prisoner" orders fully.

The comm system chirped..."Seven of Nine to Naomi Wildman. Your report is five minutes overdue."

Naomi visibly paled. She had a hard time getting words out.

"Dragon here, Seven. It's my fault that Naomi is late. We were engaging in 'small talk' and lost track of the time. We'll be right down."

"Acknowledged. Seven of Nine out."

"You owe me one, Naomi," I said, "If you help me keep an eye on Gabrielle on the way down to Astrometrics, we'll be even, OK?"

She nodded, glad to be let off so easily.

I figured that Seven would try to give me one of her more caustic dressing downs. But, I didn't pay her much mind unless I had actually deserved it.

I picked up Gabrielle, who was just thrilled to be getting out for a while.

"Want to see Aunt Seven?" I asked on the way out the door.

Gabrielle nodded vigorously. She always loved seeing our Borg Drone, even to the point that she called Seven "Momma" at times. Seven voiced her displeasure privately and I told her that Gabrielle had bonded with her and that Gabrielle would always think of her as a mother. I was personally happy when Gabrielle called me "Daddy" a few times. I had mentioned it to Janeway and Chakotay one night at the mess hall and they both chuckled as they congratulated me on my "promotion".

Gabrielle was still a little young to understand the teleportation aspect of my abilities, but, had already seen me shape shift into my mini-dragon form and other forms for a quick getaway. I also didn't want to risk teleporting with her, just yet. I would wait until she was four or five before allowing her to experience the teleport first-hand.

We walked towards the turbolift and entered it.

"Astrometrics," Naomi said.

The lift hesitated. "Computer, override Wildman restriction on my authority," I said and the lift started for Astrometrics. After Naomi had been caught a few times sneaking around, the turbolifts would no longer take Naomi to various places on the ship. Engineering, the transporters, and the Bridge were off-limits to her unless her mother, the Captain, Seven, Neelix, or I would authorize an override.

We arrived a few moments later and walked into Astrometrics where Seven was waiting patiently.

"You are 10 minutes late, Naomi Wildman. Do you have that report I assigned you?"

"Yes, Seven," she replied, handing the report over. Naomi had grabbed the original one, as I suspected she would. Seven examined the report and Naomi's findings carefully.

"Very efficient, Naomi Wildman," she stated, "You have passed the test."

Naomi grinned wide enough for both of them. Coming from Seven, that was extremely high praise. She's a tough, but, fair instructor and, if she kept up that standard, I would strongly consider trying to get her into the Academy as an instructor. With her Borg assimilated knowledge and efficient manner, her students would be hard pressed to keep up. It would be a challenge in itself. Seven has a lot of knowledge that she could impart to young cadets. The problem was an obvious one in that she is still a partial Borg drone and the Borg do not have a good track record in general. The alliance is certainly helping their overall image and the knowledge exchange program is working well. The Borg are happily assimilating the new data Starfleet and the Federation share with them as well as those people that committed "capital offenses" and were handed over to the Borg for assimilation. Seven would have to overcome a lot of prejudice, so would Gabrielle, but, the person who tried to hurt either Seven or Gabrielle would have to content with a rather angry Dragon (or a formidable Kathryn Janeway.)

Gabrielle squirmed around to see Seven and reached out to her. Seven's normally impassive face softened ever so slightly as she reached over to Gabrielle. I handed the toddler over to her adoptive mother for a few moments while I studied Seven's latest project. It looked like she was plotting another more efficient route to Earth.

"Working on another route, Seven?" I asked.

"Yes, this route is designed to make use of the Borg enhanced warp drive. It will, barring any diversions, remove an added 3 months from the journey."

It was certainly more direct and looked awfully close to the Galactic Center to me. I also noticed Voyager's current position and saw that, barring any difficulties, we would be near the boundary between the Delta Quadrant and the Beta Quadrant in a few short weeks. After that, based on Seven's new routing, we would spend, maybe, 2 years or so in the Beta Quadrant before physically coming into the Alpha Quadrant. Once physically there, we'd have a few months before crossing into Klingon space and, barring any disputes between the Federation and the Klingons, we'd be through their space and, finally, back where we belonged. We'd heard about the death of Gowron, of course, and how Worf was, for a few brief moments, the head of the Klingon Empire before he passed the mantle to a high ranking General who I had met briefly at Deep Space 9 before _Voyager_ arrived there. I thought that Worf had passed on the chance of a lifetime, but, the Empire needed someone that could heal the wounds caused by war, but, still lead the Empire in case of war and do so with honor.

Her route would take at most 5 years to actually cross, less if the Borg made any more refinements to the warp drive. Seven had also practically marked out the areas of space that the Borg had gone through and assimilated information about. Several areas were marked in red, others in different colors.

Seven explained while she held Gabrielle, who was also interested in the pretty colors.

"The red are areas that we should avoid. The Borg had assimilated some people from these areas and found their basic individual personalities were hostile towards outsiders. The orange areas are where the population may be favorable to a visit from Voyager and the green are where the Collective believes that the people there are overly welcoming and may be prime candidates for future assimilation. Voyager may want to visit these people for supplies before the Collective get there for assimilation purposes. The Borg are currently avoiding the areas, which is odd for them. However, I suspect that they are going to let us pass through, first, then, maybe start assimilation."

Seven had even pinpointed probably stardates for visits or avoidances. Barring any unforeseen problems, the odds looked extremely favorable of a fairly smooth trip from here on out.

There were also a few areas in white, very tiny, though.

"What are these white star systems for?" Naomi asked.

"Those are Demon class worlds, Naomi," Seven explained, "The Collective had scanned large amounts of deuterium or dilithium crystals there in the past."

"That's for fuel," I explained further, "or to replace the crystals that help make the higher warp speeds possible. We always prefer natural, uncut crystals over the replicated ones. Replicated crystals do not seem to last as long or are as effective as natural crystals. Seven, those planets you located are just what we need. The latest fuel consumption reports from Lt Torres show that we will need to stop at by the time we get to the second possible world, but, I think we'll re-fuel at the first planet here and get what we need. Are there any hostile races that might want to chase us away or would have mining claims on the planet?"

Seven thought for a moment, accessing her newly updated Borg "database". "The Borg have no knowledge of any mining claims," she replied.

Interesting, I thought, It seems that she's downloaded the info into her cranial implants. This certainly makes things easier for her and the rest of the crew. She'd better be careful or she'll be compared to Commander Data. But, Seven is even more precise than Data is at times.

"Excellent, Seven," I said, "Will you transfer this to the conference room for later discussion?"

"I will do that shortly, Dragon," she said, "I am scheduled to regenerate shortly and will transfer the data before that time. Meanwhile, I think that I would enjoy some time with Gabrielle and Naomi Wildman."

I chuckled, "Have fun, kids. Naomi, I want you to come straight to the mess hall when you're done. We need to prepare for the crew's dinner and I would like your help."

Naomi just smiled, "Neelix always chases me out of the kitchen. I'd be glad to help you, though."

"I am not a child," Seven said.

"Relax, Seven," I said, "I know you're an adult, but, sometimes, I see some traces of the child that was assimilated in you. It's good to take the time to relax before you go to sleep...or regenerate. I always take 15 minutes or so to play with Gabrielle before I put her to bed for the night. It's good for the soul, I think."

"Souls are irrelevant," she said. I groaned.

"Can we discuss the importance of a soul at some other time, Seven?" I asked. She nodded, "I would like that."

"Please bring Gabrielle back to my quarters when you're through playing with her. I need to get going or I will be behind schedule. What I have planned will take several hours to make and the preparation is well worth the end result."

Seven nodded her assent and I left. I had to stop at my quarters for a while and see what I needed from ship's stores and what I would be needing my rations for. I had a hunch that most everything I needed would be off my rations, though.

After I returned to my quarters, I said, "Computer, compare recipe 'Dragon Italian 34' recipe list to current ship's stores and tell me what I may use from there as well as what will be needed from my personal replicator rations account."

"Please state if substitutions may be made," the computer replied.

"No substitutions this time, except for crew members who are allergic to garlic or onion as well as the Vulcans and Commander Chakotay," I said.

"There are no current ship's stores that may be used for this recipe without substitutions. In order to make this recipe from replicated materials, you would require 10 weeks of rations in order to prepare this dinner. Your current balance is 25.3 weeks of stored rations. There are substitutions available for non-garlic, non-onion and vegetarian."

That was a heavy hit on my stored rations, but, worth it, I realized. I wasn't overly bothered by Neelix's cooking, such as it was, but even leeola root stew was no longer that appealing, even to me. That stuff tasted pretty nasty and almost gave me heartburn, something that even with old style 5 Alarm Chili, never occurred.

I had to chuckle the first time Neelix pulled that recipe out of the database. Most of the crew suffered major heartburn and indigestion after that while I actually savored every mouthful and complimented him afterwards. The EMH, however, had a rather blistering opinion of Neelix after the 20th person came into sickbay for some antacid. But, Seven's reaction was more like a third degree burn when she practically threatened to introduce Neelix to her assimilation tubes for making her suffer like that. She was quite hostile, actually. I ended up dipping into my rations to provide some relief to the entire crew and ordered Neelix to replace the rations within the next year, which he gladly did within 3 months. He learned to make a much milder chili after that and after that, there were no further incidents of "near assimilation for the good of the crew". Besides, I sort of threatened to tie Seven's tubes into a knot if she even tried harming Neelix or any other person on board. She got the point rather quickly.

I headed over to the mess hall, only to see a bunch of crewmen waiting around.

"When's dinner?" one asked.

"Well, I've got something planned that will make your mouths water and is a taste of home, if I do say so," I replied, "To answer your question, dinner will be served at about 1930 hours. With some luck, though, it will be finished and ready to eat before this time."

"But, my shift begins at 2000 hours, sir," he complained. Others agreed with him. The time was, indeed pushing it for the Gamma shift.

"Relax, crewman," I said, "If I start now and am not interrupted, the first batch will be ready by 1900 hours, giving plenty of time to enjoy the meal."

"Thank you, sir," he replied, moving out of the way.

"You're welcome," I said, "I think you'll enjoy it."

The first thing I did after getting into the kitchen was to pull a list of ingredients to use. I had several variations that I needed to make as well, one for the vegetarians on board. Another was using a garlic artificial flavor instead of actual garlic since we had some crewmembers who were allergic or otherwise intolerant to anything actually based on garlic. I wondered if there were any vampires on board, but, I knew that there were none.

The next thing was getting things replicated and ready for baking. By then, Seven had stopped in with the kids. She looked tired for some reason as she sat down with Gabrielle.

"Are you OK, Seven?" I asked.

"I'm fine," she said, "I just need to regenerate."

I thought about it for a moment, "Seven, if you have a pressing need to regenerate, you can leave Naomi and Gabrielle here. I believe that Naomi can keep Gabrielle out of trouble for an hour or so."

"I can manage," she replied.

"How long since you regenerated, Seven?"

"40.5 hours. I've been busy working on that route."

"Regenerate, Seven. I don't want to see you around the ship for at least 8 hours. I will save you some of the dinner. You must comply," I said using my "command voice". Even Seven of Nine didn't question it when I used that tone. In fact, Janeway didn't question me in those rare times.

"Understood," she said, "Good night."

I smiled softly, "Good night, Seven. Have a pleasant regeneration cycle."

She looked like she was going to hit me with a statement about the irrelevancy of a pleasant night's sleep, but, left to head to Cargo Bay 2, instead.

"Naomi," I said, "I need you to keep an eye on Gabrielle for a short while. I got to feed 153 crewmembers and they are getting hungry. I'll give you additional holodeck time for helping, too."

She beamed. She still loved her Flotter stories and carted around the doll Neelix gave her a few years ago, especially when she was frightened. But, I suspected that within a year or so, she would no longer depend on it.

It took about 30 minutes to get the first batch of dinner ready for the oven. That was going to be reserved for crewmen who needed to begin their shifts at 2000 hours and I figured that it would take about 90 minutes to fully cook. While that was cooking, I prepared the follow-up batch and got that ready. I had figured that by then, I was ready for a break knowing that about 1/3 of the crew would be fed with what I had already started.

I went out and saw Gabrielle sleeping next to Naomi, who looked totally trapped by the situation.

"She been sleeping long?" I asked quietly.

"She fell asleep about 15 minutes ago, Dragon," she replied, "Do you think you could move her? My leg is numb."

I nodded and carefully moved Gabrielle off of Naomi.

"Stay here for a few minutes, I'll take her back to my quarters," I instructed Naomi, "Your leg will wake up in a few moments, don't try to stand on it until the tingly feeling goes away."

Naomi nodded and grimaced, "It started already."

"Rub it, if you want. I've found that it does help get the circulation going again. I'll be back in five minutes."

I walked to the nearest turbolift. "Deck 2," I said and a few moments of travel later, I was stepping out and walking towards my quarters.

I entered the room and gently carried Gabrielle to her crib and laid her down there and covered her up. "Sleep well, kid," I said.

"Computer, alert me when Gabrielle wakes up," I said. The reply was a chirping sound.

I quickly teleported to the mess hall, surprising Naomi a little bit. She had yet to experience the sensation of teleporting and I figured that she was now old enough to go on a quick teleport. I didn't think that Ensign Wildman would object, especially a site-to-site teleport.

By then, my break, such as it was, had ended and I started preparing the next batch, but, with Naomi helping out, that time was cut in half. I also could see Seven's influence on Naomi as she was certainly being pretty efficient in her work.

Within an hour, we had put enough into the ovens that the whole crew would be happily fed and possibly enough for seconds considering how my cooking was, by default, much better than Neelix's cooking.

I had just taken the first of the batches out of the oven when the crew started walking in with various comments, mainly good ones. I had heard someone say, "I can smell this all the way down the hall."

"Right on time, Naomi," I said, "You hungry?"

She nodded, "Yeah, this smell is wonderful and is making me hungry."

"Then, I've done a good job," I said, "Nothing against Neelix, but, his cooking usually leaves people wondering if they are brave enough to try his stuff. The mark of a good cook, Naomi, is the aroma of the food as it's being cooked. The smell of the cooked food adds to it's pleasurable taste and overall enjoyment."

I fixed a plate for Naomi and asked if she wanted a salad or any other vegetable to go with the pasta. She nodded and I replicated a small salad for her and something to drink.

"Do you need help getting that to a table?" I asked. She shook her head and went to find a seat while I served the crew.

"That smells wonderful," Harry Kim said by way of a greeting. "Only the best, Mr. Kim," I replied and handed him a tray. "You got the center seat tonight?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said, "Third time this week."

"You enjoy having that night watch, don't you?" I asked.

"Actually, I do enjoy it," he replied, "The Gamma shift crew are wonderful people to work with."

"I know, Ensign. And, I've been hearing a lot of good things from the captain and Chakotay about how you handle the Gamma Shift. I am thinking of stopping in to watch for myself later on tonight."

He paled slightly, knowing that I have a critical eye. However, I had an unstated reason for wanting to personally observe Harry. He was seriously overdue for a promotion and I wanted to verify, in my mind, that he was ready for another pip. The progress reports all indicated that he was more than ready, though and tonight would probably seal the promotion. However, I would still have to defer to Janeway's decision, but, based on his performance, I would strongly recommend a promotion to LT(jg).

"Relax, Harry," I said, "I don't bite unless there's a reason for me to give someone a chewing. I'm just going to observe. You won't even know I'm there, unless something comes up of importance."

He left and sat down to enjoy his meal. By then, several people had already enjoyed a first helping and looked like they needed a second one, but, left to head for their shift. Many, however, threw a compliment my way, including Naomi.

It took another couple of hours to get the crew fed and not one complained about the taste or quality. Both Janeway and Chakotay stopped in and thoroughly enjoyed the treat. I saved Seven a decent portion and even placed a bowl of strawberry shortcake in the freezer for her now that I knew that she still enjoyed them from her pre-assimilation childhood.

When all was finished, I returned to my quarters, having been notified by the computer that Gabrielle was waking up. She would need another fresh diaper, then, her own dinner. I had already sent Naomi back to my quarters to get ready for bed, where she was still awake.

"Something wrong, Naomi?" I asked.

"Neelix usually reads a story to me before bed," she said. I nodded, remembering that most of my adopted children loved to be read to as they fell asleep.

"What was he reading to you last night? I would be glad to read part of it."

She told me that new Flotter books had come out while we were lost and were recently relayed by the Collective, so Neelix had started reading them to her since they hadn't been converted to holodeck programs yet (or the programs hadn't been transmitted, I made a mental note to get them for her the next time that the Collective came by with some mail.)

I downloaded the one Neelix had started reading into a data pad and tucked Naomi into bed. I was also holding onto Gabrielle, who had received a fresh diaper and was getting a little restless. This was usually the time when I was able to pay some extra attention to her with some playtime and she was used to it.

It turned out that Naomi was more tired out than I thought as within 15 minutes after I started reading, I glanced over to her and she was sound asleep.

I turned off the data pad, after saving the page to the main computer and carried Gabrielle over to my bedroom, where I kept some toys she loved.

"I'm sorry that you had to wait, Gabrielle," I said, "Uncle Neelix needs me to babysit Naomi for a few days."

Gabrielle merely gave me a hug and all was forgiven as we settled down to give her some playtime before I called it a night. I had to cover Alpha Shift for Captain Janeway, who was beginning to show signs of additional stress and the EMH ordered her to take a few days of rest. Chakotay would also need some time off and I told him that I would cover for them. Tuvok would serve as temporary First Officer for a couple days.

But, as I was making my plans, I remembered that I was going to visit Harry Kim, who was now in command of the Gamma Shift. Since Gabrielle was showing no signs of being sleepy, I decided to use my admiral's prerogative and took her with me. But, then, considering that she just woke up, I wasn't surprised at all.

"Want to see Uncle Harry?" I asked, "I told him that I would visit him tonight on the bridge."

Gabrielle, who had never seen the bridge, practically jumped out of the bed in response with an "Huh-uh" for a reply.

"That must mean 'yes'," I muttered to myself.

I picked her up and headed for the turbolift. As we walked, I tried to explain to Gabrielle why she couldn't touch anything on the bridge. I'd have a hard time explaining to Janeway why we lost a torpedo or something else that was non replaceable or why the ship suddenly dropped out of it's high warp.

I was lucky in that Gabrielle was a good listener and she was already able to grasp why certain things shouldn't be done or touched. I had to hope it was her Borg half that made things easier. Being around our adult Borg and teenaged Borg were also good influences, I felt. Even I had adopted several Borg like mannerisms. I always wondered why, since Seven came on board, but, I came to realize that Seven had a primarily Vulcan personality instead of human. I knew that the original Annika Hanson was long gone, but, I wouldn't be surprised if one day the more stern Seven didn't give way to a repressed Annika. The Doctor had said that it was a possibility, but, he considered it to be unlikely as well. Too much time had passed since she was assimilated for any of the original personality to have survived. With Gabrielle, though, she was developing more of a natural personality, I thought.

The turbolift deposited us at the bridge and Harry stood up to acknowledge my presence.

"As you were, Ensign," I said, "I'm just here to observe and show Gabrielle around a bit. She practically hit the door running when I told her that I was coming up here for a few minutes."

Harry sat down, chuckling at the thought.

I sat Gabrielle down and held her hand as we walked around the various consoles. She was especially interested in the helm controls for some reason.

"A budding helmsman," the current helmsman said, "Want a closer look?"

Gabrielle merely reached up and received a lift. She looked intensely at the console, like she was trying to burn it into her memory. She reached over to the console, but, didn't fully touch it.

"Computer," I whispered, "lock out helm controls, authorization: Dragon Omega 142."

I nodded to Harry, telling him that things were under control. He nodded back as Gabrielle palmed the controls. The helmsman looked shocked.

"Hey," she said, "That's the warp control you're pushing there."

"It's OK," I said, "I temporarily disconnected the controls. She can't do any harm." I took Gabrielle and scolded her. "Are you trying to get me in trouble with Aunt Kathryn? She doesn't like unexpected changes to the ship, OK?"

Gabrielle nodded with tears in her eyes. "Hey, little one. You didn't cause any trouble. Just be more careful, OK??" She gave me a hug, which I returned.

"Sir," the ops officer said, "Scanners are picking up a transwarp conduit, 100 KM off the bow."

I nodded again to Harry, this time letting him know that he was still in charge.

"Computer release helm controls, authorization Dragon Omega 142," he said, "And slow to 1/4 impulse."

The ship immediately slowed to 1/4 impulse. As long as I was physically on the bridge, the computer would allow the countermand. If I had already left, the Borg would have to play catch-up.

"A Borg Sphere has emerged," Harry said.

"As you were, Ensign," I said.

"Janeway to bridge. Report," we heard.

"Kim here, Captain. We've slowed to meet with a Borg Sphere that dropped out of transwarp. It's just waiting there for us."

"Understood," she said, "Keep me informed. Janeway out."

My adaptive communicator chirped it's special Borg contact signal.

"Dragon here. State your intentions."

"We are the Borg. Prepare for a priority data transfer from the Alpha Quadrant," that still unnerving voice said. It must have been important for the Borg to send a special ship to meet with us without any prior notice.

"Establish uplink to the vessel," Harry said.

"The uplink is established," I said to the Collective, "Begin your transfer."

A few moments later, the ops officer said, "Transfer complete. It's encoded for your eyes only, Admiral."

"We have received the transfer. Stand by for a return communication. Dragon out." To the ops officer, "Transfer the message to the ready room. I'll take it there. Harry, would you keep an eye on Gabrielle for a few minutes?"

"Certainly, sir," he said. I couldn't risk even having Gabrielle watching the message since it was "Eyes only".

I entered the ready room, already dreading what the message might be. Starfleet had never used the Borg to relay this type of information, so that had my instincts going at yellow alert.

I sat down. "Computer, play message just received."

"State your clearance level. Security level 15 required for access."

"Dragon Gamma 1154 Alpha 136 Zeta 8521. Security clearance 15," I said.

"Security clearance confirmed. State identity for voiceprint verification."

"This is the Dragon. Rank: Admiral. Service Number SC-0056-6682-01."

"Voiceprint confirmed," the computer said and the Federation Logo appeared.

Admiral Paris appeared on the screen, "Admiral, what I am about to say is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. The Federation Council and Starfleet have ordered the immediate arrest of Captain Kathryn Janeway and Commander Chakotay for violations of the Prime Directive while in the Delta Quadrant. They are to be confined to the brig immediately pending a full hearing and possible courts-martial. The Council has further ordered you to take command of Voyager and to bring her back to Federation Space as quickly as possible. We expect a reply confirming that out orders have been carried out within 24 hours. Paris out."

I swore some ancient Greek invectives at this order. My fears were confirmed and the orders left no room for delay. I steeled myself for the task ahead.

"Computer," I said, "Verify the source of the message."

"Source confirmed as Admiral Owen Paris of Starfleet Command," the computer said a moment later.

"Dragon to Tuvok. Report to the ready room immediately," I said. Then, I paced the floor until he arrived. He arrived a few minutes later, with a raised eyebrow.

"Mr. Tuvok," I said, "I've received orders from Starfleet. I am to place the Captain and First Officer under arrest for violation of General Order 1 and I am to assume command of the ship. Gather a security detail and meet me in the conference room immediately."

I knew that this would be a blow to her dignity as well as Chakotay's, so, I decided to lessen the impact as much as I could.

"Computer, summon the senior staff to the Conference Room. Priority one," I said, "Interrupt Seven of Nine's regeneration cycle and have her report to the Conference Room as well."

"Acknowledged," the computer said.

I left the Ready Room. "Harry, report to the Conference Room. Bring Gabrielle with you."

He rose, still holding the youngster and followed me after placing the helmsman in temporary command of the Bridge.

It took about 5 minutes for everyone to show up. Those more observant probably saw the look of pain on my face. I wasn't making much of an attempt to totally hide the feelings.

"Captain. Commander Chakotay," I said, "I've received some distressing orders from Starfleet and the Federation Council. This is the hardest thing I've had to do since coming aboard this ship, but, I have little choice in the matter.

"By order of the Federation Council and Starfleet Command, you are relieved of command and placed under arrest pending a hearing and possible courts-martial. The charge is the one that all Captains dread the most. You've been formally charged with Violation of the Prime Directive and are hereby confined to the Brig until such a hearing can be convened. You have no idea how I regret doing this to you and pray that you can forgive me. May God have mercy on you."

The senior staff looked on in shock for a moment, then, the protests began in earnest.

"I kind of expected this to happen," Kathryn said, "I knew that Starfleet might not look kindly on some of my actions, nor Chakotay's actions. He's still wanted by the Federation anyway, I would think."

"Silence," I said quietly, "I have no choice but to comply with these orders. Starfleet has placed me in command of the ship with orders to return home as quickly as possible.

"Mr. Tuvok. Take the Captain and First Officer to their quarters. Captain, I'm going against that part of those orders on my responsibility. As I said, they wanted you confined to the brig. I will not do that."

From that moment, the eyes in the room all glared at me with hatred, except for Seven, who was her normal cool self during the proceedings.

After they left to head for their quarters, I said, "We're going home as soon as I can arrange transportation. Any member of the crew may visit the Captain and Chakotay during the daylight shifts. Seven, can you act as an impartial representative for both of them? Did you assimilate anyone with knowledge of Federation Law and Starfleet Regulations that you can use to form some kind of defense?"

"I have and will comply," she said. I nodded, "Good. Do what you have to do. You will have our full and complete cooperation. Anyone that doesn't comply can be told that it's a direct order from the Dragon. Work with Mr. Tuvok on their defense as well, since he's known them longer and can assist you."

"Harry, contact Neelix and Ensign Wildman. Their away mission is to be aborted immediately and they are to return at all top speed. If they cannot return quickly, tell them to expect a pick up from a Borg ship. Dismissed."

As everyone left, Seven stayed behind with Gabrielle.

"You are upset," she said coolly.

"Seven," I said, "I've been dreading this day since we first sent the EMH to the Alpha Quadrant. Janeway's made a lot of decisions that violated many standard regulations and even bent the Prime Directive to the point that it is blurred, even to me, and I developed the thing 150 years ago. I overlooked the possible violations because, like most of the crew, I want to get back home and see those friends I left behind. It's not an easy job being an admiral sometimes. I'm usually deskbound, like most admirals back home are. The last eight years have been the longest I've spent in space, believe it or not. I basically was grandfathered into the Starfleet when the Earth's military was disbanded and given this rank. Now, I do not know if even I am worthy to keep it. They are overlooking my involvement in this situation and making scapegoats out of Janeway and Chakotay.

"I think I got every reason to be upset."

"Dragon," Seven said, "You've done everything possible to help this crew. You've stood by the Captain from Day One and no one expects you to do anything less. You supported my disconnection from the Collective and given me a lot of your time and insights, knowing that I was Borg. You assisted me in becoming who I am, advised me and guided me as much as the Captain and the Doctor. The Collective had noticed your unique abilities during the 'Enterprise Incident' and wanted you since then to be assimilated. The Collective, after the 'Wolf 359' battle realized that unless you were willing, you could not be assimilated. Your abilities would have added to our perfection, but the Collective would have lost many drones in the process. It was you that held the Federation together during it's formation and our repeated attempts to assimilate humanity, just by being there. They would suffer greatly were you to give up. The Federation will not punish you for doing what you feel is correct. You are too relevant to them."

"Then, Seven," I replied, "Janeway is doing what she feels is the right thing to do to get her crew home. Now, that is my responsibility and I need to rush this crew back to a bittersweet homecoming, just to see their brave captain and First Officer going on trial. I feel that they are wrong in this decision, but, I can't pull any strings or call in favors from those I helped ascend to their positions. That even included Admiral Paris, who I guided on the fast track to command of his own starship and then becoming an admiral. He was upset at having told me to arrest Janeway and Chakotay.

"I still remember that angry, scared drone that Janeway brought aboard 5 years ago as well as the Ocampan, Kes, who we lost after you became part of our collective. I've seen you become an excellent teacher to Naomi and have seen you regain your humanity. Gabrielle here is an example of that growth. She already emulates you. More than I would like, actually, but, that shows me that you've met this crew halfway and then some. Seven, I am counting on your Borg imposed order and efficiency to help Janeway and Chakotay. You have full access privileges to them at any time of the day as their lawyer. Please take Gabrielle back to my quarters, Seven. I need time alone to think about what I'm going to do.

"Do you know why I never permitted myself to be assimilated?" I asked before she left.

"I do not have enough information to answer that," she said.

"Well, I know that the Borg would gain my innate abilities, including teleportation. The Borg would be truly perfect if they gained that power and adapted it to their usage. Can you see 150,000 drones teleporting onto a planet without any warning or even being able to be blocked by simple deflectors? How long would it take to assimilate a planet in that manner?"

"It would take approximately 2.5 hours to assimilate a planet the size of Earth. I see your point," she said, "I need to terminate this discussion, though." I waved her out of the room.

She stood up and took the now sleepy toddler with her to my quarters. I figured that she would stay there in case the two kids needed her.

The message from Starfleet had also named the stardates in question and as I looked up the logs from those dates and others, I could begin to see where the Federation had found enough evidence to charge Janeway and Chakotay.

But, I also had access to personal logs from those times and examined them over the next few hours as well, trying to see if there was any unofficial justification for some of the actions. Fortunately, Janeway and Chakotay kept extensive logs, even personal ones, that had given a good justification for many of the actions. Sadly, though, I couldn't introduce them in court myself since I was mentioned in several of the logs as supporting them.

Seven, being part-Borg, would have an advantage over Federation attorneys with her Borg databases, which she would pour through over the next several days. I was going to dismiss the Borg ship that was still outside the window after making my reply to Starfleet, and told them that if they didn't like my confining Janeway and Chakotay to their quarters, I would resign my commission.

I decided that I needed to talk to them both to seek their permission to include personal logs in my reply and to do that, I would need Seven's presence as their attorney. I had no intention of talking to them without making sure that their rights were protected and if that meant using the Collective to establish a subspace relay for their courts-martial, I would do just that. But, I was sorely tempted to ask the Borg Queen to park several cubes in Earth orbit. I couldn't do that because that could cause the agreement to be terminated. If that happened, the computer had said that within 60 days, the Federation would fall and, within a year, the Klingon Empire and Romulan Empire would also fall to the Borg. I would also be throwing away several centuries of good and heroic deeds just to seek a dire revenge.

"Dragon to Seven of Nine. Please report to the Captain's quarters," I said.

"Unable to comply," she said, "Both Naomi and Gabrielle are awake and require supervision."

I sighed. I did not need to have this minor problem, but, after looking at the time, I realized that over 8 hours had passed. Good Lord! I thought to myself.

"Understood," I replied, "I'll have the Captain report there, instead. Dragon out."

I went to the Captain's quarters, where two security guards were posted. They moved aside to allow me to enter.

I entered to see a more human side to Janeway. She looked like she had a rough night. Her eyes were actually red from crying, which shocked this old Dragon to the core.

"Kathryn? Are you all right?" I asked.

"Not really, I had hoped that the Federation would have waited to do this to Chakotay and myself," she replied with a sigh that almost broke my heart. She'd been broken badly by this action and hurt her more than anyone would ever know. The strong Captain was facing a life in prison unless Seven and I could figure a way out of it or plead to some lesser charges. I had also made a decision. When we returned to Earth, I was resigning my commission as a flag admiral and leaving the Federation to their follies. But, if Janeway was acquitted or given a suspended sentence, I would consider staying.

"I've appointed Seven as your lawyer, Captain. Chakotay's as well. This is, as you know, part of the Fourth Guarantee of the Constitution of the Federation. This will be the last time I will speak to you without her presence until this case is settled.

"Kathryn, I've had to be hard on your crewmen when I've needed to and, I may be asked to hand you a sentence that will be very hard. But, I am not going to impose on the Collective to drag us back home, not unless the Federation gives me no choice.

"You need to stay strong, Captain. The crew cannot afford to see you like this. I promise you that this crew and myself will do everything in our power to help you.

"One of the charges is that you made an illegal and unauthorized alliance with the Collective. I know that they do not have all the facts in this case since they refer to the conflict with Species 8472 and the other results that came after that. Seven might not be totally impartial, but, she's the best that we can muster on short notice.

"They also charged you with a violation of the Prime Directive by giving a hostile alien species holographic technology."

"They picked the Hirogen?" she asked.

I nodded, "Yeah. I should have seen that coming. Kathryn, this puts my neck on the same block since I stood by and permitted this to happen. They seemed to pick out two incidents that occurred after Kes left the ship. Most strange."

I wondered why the Federation chose those two incidents to file an immediate action. It was, indeed, interesting and I wondered if there was a connection. On the surface, there didn't seem to be any. We were able to open a dialog with Species 8472 and, recently, Janeway had gotten bit by her donation to the Hirogen when their constructs were able to turn the hunters into the hunted. But, the incident happened too recently to be really included in the official datastreams.

That, I could fix, I hoped. I knew that the Federation didn't have all the available facts and as an unofficial co-counsel, I was going to provide that evidence to the Federation.

"Captain, I need your permission to submit your personal logs of any incidences that the Federation is concerned about. However, it is my duty to inform you that if you grant that permission, you will be waiving your Fourth Guarantee rights concerning possible self-incrimination. Take the time that you need to decide," I told her gently.

She laughed, "We're still a long way from home. Go ahead and submit them if you think they'll help."

"Captain, they want Voyager back ASAP," I said, "I'm under orders to, as Picard would say, 'make it so'. There is still that sphere matching our course and speed. If need be, I can get us a lift back to the Federation today, but, I want to delay this so you can prepare a defense. I am going to tell the Federation that they need to wait for 60 days to allow you to prepare and no amount of threats will make me change my mind. But, that doesn't preclude them asking the Collective to drag us back, then, resistance would be futile."

"We do need the time to prepare, I'm afraid. Admiral, Voyager has been my life since I took command and I don't want to lose her or my career."

"Captain, you will not lose your career. I promise you that. If you are convicted, I will stand by you. Your fate shall be my own. If need be, I will take full and complete responsibility and serve your prison terms and take your dishonorable discharge unto myself."

"Captain Spock did that, didn't he?", she asked.

"Yes. When Admiral James T. Kirk was brought before the Federation Council for court-martial, Captain Spock, who owed his existence to Kirk, stood by his Admiral when Kirk pled guilty for his entire senior staff. Kirk shouldered the demotion and wrath of the Federation as a true warrior. If he hadn't saved Earth from that Whale Probe, the Federation would have been gravely wounded.

"But, there is no way to pull that feat now, but, as a titular flag rank officer, I could have ordered you not to make the first Borg Alliance or give that technology to the Hirogens. I failed to do any of those, so it's also my neck on the line. But, I am willing to sacrifice this Starfleet career to protect this crew, who I now consider to be my family."

Kathryn Janeway just looked at me, like I was insane, but realized that I could afford it. My old lair was long sealed, I did not need a Starfleet career and if they wanted to cashier me out, they were more than welcome to. They would, however, lose my services as a diplomat and a liaison for the Collective. I had somehow gained their respect and the Collective have my respect. The Federation would be up a creek if I decided to give everything up and leave for a while. I had done it many times in the past and would do so again, especially since I had already devoted several hundred years to serving mankind.

"Seven will be by later today to start preparations for your defense, Captain. I'm sorry, but, you are restricted to quarters unless it is mealtime. Then, if you desire, you may be escorted to the mess hall for meals or use replicator rations. My account took a hefty hit last night, but, I will transfer 60 days worth into both you and Chakotay's account to use for meals only," I said and stood up to leave.

"Oh, by the way, Captain. I am going to promote Harry to LT(jg) later today. He's earned it, but, I want your opinion before I commit to this plan of action," I said.

She looked surprised, "Harry's a fine ensign and he would make a fine LT. Chakotay is/was very pleased with the recent progress reports and Harry running the Gamma Shift. I was going to promote him at the next staff meeting, but, if you want to, it's your call, sir."

"Thanks, Captain," I said, "If you need someone to talk to outside of the case against you, you know how to contact me." I left her quarters and left orders with Security that the Captain would be receiving Seven of Nine as her lawyer and that she was to be granted full access to her or Chakotay at all times.

I headed for Chakotay's quarters to update him on the situation. This process didn't take too long and within 30 minutes I was back in my quarters, discussing things with Seven. She was not pleased that I had updated them, but, assured her that she would be taking the case and that my direct involvement had come to an end.

Seven left to do some research into Federation Law and Starfleet regulations as well as preparing a defense for her "clients".


	2. A tragic event and a gift!

Chapter 2 

Ship's log, Stardate 55001.6 Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay have been relieved of command, per Starfleet orders. However, I will _not_ destroy their dignity by confining them to the brig. I am disobeying a direct order, on my personal responsibility.

I am also going on record to protest and object to this decision by the Federation and Starfleet Command. This decision could have waited until we had returned from the Delta Quadrant to be announced. I am also objecting on the grounds that neither person will be allowed to directly cross-examine living witnesses against them and could be seen as a denial of their rights.

I have decided that a 60 day delay is called for, in order to give us time to prepare a suitable defense. I have assigned Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01, as their representative for the proceedings and Lt. Tuvok has volunteered to act as a co-counsel. Seven has yet to decide if she wants his assistance, but, I suspect that she will.

I have decided, and Captain Janeway concurs, that Ensign Harry Kim should be given a promotion. I, therefore, am granting a field promotion to Lt(jg) Harry Kim, effective immediately. I feel that he is more than overdue for a promotion and he has shown that he can handle the added responsibilities that come with the rank. In fact, he already is handling the responsibilities and the added hollow pip will reflect his status. I am confident in the young man's abilities to be an effective Gamma Shift commander and will soon be ready to fleet up to Beta Shift on alternating days instead of the Gamma Shift. However, the Gamma Shift bridge crew and Kim have shown that they've jelled as an effective shift and Seven's informal efficiency briefings have reflected favorably upon this setup, so I am hesitant to change it.

The sphere is still waiting for my reply to Starfleet and has matched our course and speed towards the Alpha Quadrant and home. I suspect that Starfleet will not fully appreciate my reply as it will be very caustic, I'm afraid.

* * *

I was in the middle of my first shift as Acting Captain and not really enjoying it. I couldn't merely sit there and pretend that I was enjoying this situation with most of the senior staff still seething at the orders from home.

However, as I sat in the "Big Chair", I knew that some good would come out of the situation, at least for Harry Kim, who still didn't know that he was being promoted.

I decided, though, to surprise him and went into the Ready Room for a moment.

"One hollow pip, enclosed in a small flip top box similar to the old Earth jewelry box," I said to the replicator. A moment later, there was Harry's new pip, neatly placed in a box.

I left and headed for the center of the Bridge.

"Harry," I said, "Come down here, please. I need to discuss something with you."

He came down to me and stood at attention.

"I couldn't help but notice that you're out of uniform, Harry," I said.

His reaction was that of what every person does when informed that their uniform is not correct and looked at his shoes, then, checked to see if he left his fly undone.

I handed him the box, "I believe that you will find the way to correct the situation in here."

He opened it and saw the gleaming metal pip. I took it out of the box.

"Harry Kim. There are not many times that an admiral gets to do something that he enjoys. This is one of those times. After consulting with Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay, and for services provided to this crew as well as dedication to duty, I hereby grant you the field commission of Lt(jg). You've earned this rank, son," I said as I attached the pip to his collar.

The bridge crew broke out into applause and Tom stood up and said, "Congratulations, Lt. It took you long enough, though." I merely smiled and let the senior staff enjoy the boosted morale for a while.

"Harry, you know that you will have the traditional wetting down party in the near future, to celebrate your new rank. The first drinks are on you," I said, "Also, you can take an additional 5 hours of holodeck time to celebrate, if you desire. Prepare the party at your earliest opportunity, please."

"Aye, sir," he said and resumed his station.

"Mr. Tuvok, you have the conn. I will be in the ready room if you need me," I said. I figured that I might as well draft my message to Starfleet while I was in a good enough mood to do so.

"Acknowledged," he said and moved towards the center seat. His relief moved into the station as I walked past to the ready room.

I sat down and grabbed a datapadd to begin drafting my reply. I wanted to take the time to write it before I actually sent a verbal reply. It took over an hour to make the rough draft, then, another 30 minutes to rephrase some areas that I didn't like.

"Computer, begin visual recording, encode it for immediate delivery to Starfleet Command and route it to Admiral Owen Paris with copies to the current Starfleet CIC and Federation President. Route the message through the Borg Sphere currently matching our course and speed. Include personal logs of myself, Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay from the time of the Voyager-Borg Alliance and any logs from when the Hirogen took over the ship."

"Acknowledged. Begin recording," the computer said.

"Mr. President; members of the Federation council; Starfleet Command CIC and Admiral Paris. As you are aware, you have ordered me to relieve Captain Kathryn Janeway and Commander Chakotay of their commands. I have done so and taken command of this ship.

"However, I cannot comply with the order confining them to the brig. I have confined them to their quarters instead, where they have 24 hours guards posted. I have assigned them a legal representative in the form of Seven of Nine, the former Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01 and co-counsel Commander Tuvok. Both are felt to be well versed in Federation Law and relevant regulations.

"As you know, Captain Janeway made a temporary alliance with the Borg Collective several years ago that was the basis for the current alliance that the Federation shares with the Collective. This initial alliance benefited this ship with the addition of Seven of Nine, formerly known as Annika Hanson.

"What you may not be aware of is that there was a necessity for this alliance. I am including my personal logs as well as the personal logs of the Captain and First Officer and submitting them as defense exhibits 1 through 30 or however many logs are included.

"These will show the necessity of such an alliance in that while the Borg attempted to assimilate who they called Species 8472, they unwittingly unleashed a race of beings into this universe who would have destroyed all known and unknown races in the Galaxy. The Borg were unable to stop or resist Species 8472's attempt to destroy the Collective and we realized that if they could defeat the Collective, they could not be stopped. They had sworn to purge our galaxy of humanoid life My logs will show that Species 8472 had the ability to explode planets. One bioship was able to destroy Borg Battle Cubes and as few as three could destroy an armada of Borg Cubes of more than 25 ships.

"We made a tactical error in dealing our technology to the Hirogen as the holograms turned against their creators. The Captain does regret that action, but, we still do not feel that it's worthy of such a heavy charge.

"But, I have also made other decisions. In order for the Captain and First Officer to have enough time to prepare a defense, I have ordered a 60 day delay in implementing the order to return at all due haste. While we can catch a ride with any Borg ship, I feel that the Federation is making a rush to judgment and attempting to deny the Captain and First Officer their Fourth Guarantee rights. This I cannot condone and is within Starfleet regulation 1695 Section 5(C)2.

"I have also made a further decision. In accordance with a historical precedent in the case of UFP v. James Tiberius Kirk, I am standing with my shipmates and their fate shall be mine as well. I permitted and watched as these so-called violations took place, even if I could have prevented them.

"If this means that I am cashiered out of Starfleet, so be it. If I am forced to resign, I will do so. If I am forced to resign, though, the Federation would immediately and permanently lose my services as a diplomat, Borg liaison, and other things that I routinely do to assist the Federation. I would disappear and head for a destination as yet unknown. You all know that I am able to hide in any populated planet by altering my form to match one of the locals.

"Basically put: If I leave because of this action, the Federation would be on their own and even if the Council itself approached me because they needed my help, I would refuse. If the Borg Alliance is severed for whatever reason and outer colonies fall to the Collective, do not come running to me to get the Queen to back off as I will refuse your plea for help. Also, I brokered the alliance, if you recall, a year ago. I am hesitant to inform the Collective that they should consider the agreement to be irrelevant except for giving this ship any needed protection while we make our way home or protecting any planet we choose to settle on instead of coming home.

"If the Collective decides to terminate the agreement and begin assimilation, you'd better pray that Captain Picard is still on somewhat friendly terms with Q, or start praying to whomever you call God.

"Mr. President. I do not make threats here. But, I will promise that I will walk away from the Federation and renounce my citizenship. If that means staying in this quadrant, I will do so and if any member of the crew wishes to join me, they would be welcomed to do so. If that does happen, no Federation personnel would be allowed within 50 parsecs of wherever we landed.

"I urge the Federation to reconsider this hasty action. I realize that we would have to face the music when we returned, but, we will not be coerced into giving up chances to explore this section of Space because some admiral got an idea to fry this crew for trying to get home. Dragon out."

I hit my adaptive commbadge and told the sphere that a message was incoming, and then, they would be able to depart for their next mission. Moments later, the sphere entered a transwarp conduit and left.

I had a feeling that within an day or two, another Borg ship would be visiting us to either deliver the message from the Federation or to bluntly inform us that we're heading home and that resistance is, indeed, futile.

The Federation, however, knows that I make an excellent First Contact officer and that they'd still be at War if I hadn't forged the current alliance with the Borg. Most species that I've encountered saw my assuming a "native" form as doing them honor and not an insult, which benefited the Federation greatly in the long run. I suspected that many bouts of "hurt feelings" had been averted by my assistance.

But, I had a ship to run in the meanwhile, so I returned to the Bridge.

Paris asked, "Did you tell the council off?"

"Yes," I replied, "I did, Tom. No, you may not know the contents of the message I sent, that is privileged information. Let's just say that I have put my career on the line for this ship as well as my reputation. We may know within a day or two at most what the reply is. If it's what I think, a Cube will be by to tell us that resistance is futile and that we're heading back home, whether we like it or not. If that happens, Tom, and you're on duty, do not resist, just follow my lead.

"Also, to head off any protests or what-not, if the Federation does persist, I am going to resign my commission and renounce my citizenship and settle here. You may pass the word that any crewmember that wants to join me, is more than welcome to. We'll have Borg protection no matter what."

Harry asked, "Is that a wise decision, Admiral?"

"No," Tuvok replied, "It's neither sound, wise, nor logical. But, if I know the Admiral, he's going to call on precedent as well as his reputation. You're doing what Admiral Kirk did at his Court-Martial, correct, sir?"

"Yes," I replied, "I am doing just that and hoping that the Federation will have a reason to pause in their decision or at least give us 60 days from today to work up a defense for the captain and First Officer. If not, we're as good as dead as far as a defense is going. Until we know, we're going to continue on our way to our next stop, a planet that Seven believes has a suitable amount of fuel to get us a lot closer to home. Set course, 257 mark 135, warp 6, Mr. Paris and engage when ready."

"Aye, sir," he replied. A moment later the new course was set and we were on the way.

"According to this, our destination is 500 light years away," Tom said.

"Excellent," I said, "We'll get there is a few days, correct?"

"Aye, sir," he replied. I leaned back to relax for a moment.

"Admiral," Tuvok said, "When is the last time you slept?"

"About 48 hours ago," I replied, "Why do you ask?"

"Even you must get some sleep at some point. Your command abilities will suffer as well as your ability to be a father to your infant will suffer."

"I've gone without sleep for over a week, Mr. Tuvok, without any lasting effect. Fortunately, my immortal nature gives me a lot of leeway when it comes to sleeping."

"It is illogical to push yourself beyond what you can safely do, sir," he replied, "Regardless of your immortality, this ship needs a leader who is mentally and physically fit to command."

"I can't argue with that point, Mr. Tuvok. I'll get some sleep when this shift ends."

"Alpha shift will end in 30.45 minutes, sir."

"Understood, Mr. Tuvok," I said, standing up. I knew when I was out-gunned.

"You have the Bridge, Mr. Tuvok," I said, "Alert me if anything comes up that I should know about."

"Sir," Harry said. I turned to face the newly frocked Lt(jg).

"Go ahead, Harry," I said.

"Well, I just wanted to thank you for giving me this promotion. Does tomorrow sound good for that party you mentioned?"

"Hopefully, yes. Work out the details with Neelix and let me know. Also, you've earned that pip, Harry. Do me proud," I said.

"Aye, aye, sir," he replied and I headed for my quarters. A few minutes later, I was there and relieved Seven, who was babysitting Gabrielle and working on the defense of our senior officers.

"You are 26 minutes early, Admiral," she said formally.

"I know, Seven. Tuvok insisted that I get some sleep. I've been so worked up about this legal problem with the Captain that I neglected to get any sleep, so I gave him the bridge until the end of the Alpha shift. Where's Naomi?"

"Naomi Wildman is in Holodeck 2, running one of those Flotter holo-novels she loves. She is scheduled to leave in 90 minutes as Crewman Chell is scheduled to use it then. I instructed her to return here when she was finished."

I nodded, "You may return to Astrometrics, your alcove, or stay here, Seven. I am going to take Tuvok up on his advice and get some sleep."

"I will stay here to supervise the children, then."

I nodded, "That's acceptable, Seven. I will see you in a few hours. If you need to leave, either take Naomi with you or get Icheb to watch the kids for me. Naomi's mother and Neelix will be returning soon from their trip, so, if I'm still sleeping, just leave me a note or something, please."

"Understood. Good night, Dragon," she said.

"Good night, Annika," I said with a grin. I was beginning to get her used to her human name because I had a feeling that we would be home a lot sooner than her projections indicated and "Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01" just wouldn't fit in too well, I was afraid. But, who knows what would happen. People back home might like calling her Seven instead of Annika. If that was the case, my efforts would be irrelevant...and I would enjoy that.

I went into my bedroom and looked in on Gabrielle, who was also sleeping, it looked like. I smiled and gently caressed the toddler's face. She knew who it was and snuggled a little bit in her sleep, rubbing her head against my palm. I actually envied her because of her innocence and youth protected her from most problems while, I had a monster one to deal with.

I laid down and fell asleep before my head hit the pillow, it seemed. As I slept, I dreamed that I was watching Kirk's court-martial and plea of guilty to all counts against him while I stood helplessly as the Federation sentenced him to a dishonorable discharge and life in a rehab colony without parole to answer for his crimes against the Federation. As Kirk turned, he turned into Janeway as Spock was sentenced for treason against the Federation and conspiracy to violate the Prime Directive. Spock then turned to face me and changed to Chakotay while the Federation then turned on me and stripped me of my rank and threw me out of Starfleet as well. The members of the Council then started laughing at me and my foolishness, even the Vulcans were laughing and taunting me, saying that I would never live up to their standards. Then, I was grabbed by a Borg Drone and wheeled around. The drone attempted to assimilate me, but, the drone looked like Seven when she was still a drone.

"Dragon, your biological essence will become one of us. Your abilities will become ours, making us completely perfect. The Federation shall fall to the Collective. Resistance is futile," the Seven drone said.

In my dream, I was helpless as the tubes plunged into my neck as I lashed out, striking the drone and trying to shape shift, but, the nanoprobes had been injected. I roared as loud as I could as everything went dark...I looked down and saw the exoskeleton of a drone, then, I was being shaken and some drone who looked like the non-drone Seven was trying to talk to me..."Dragon? Are you OK?"

The scene dissolved and I was back on Voyager. The real Seven was shaking me and, before I realized it, I lashed out and knocked her into the far wall of my quarters. That woke me up.

I raced over to her and felt for a pulse. She had one, but, it was weak.

"Dragon to Doctor," I screamed, "Medical emergency in my quarters! Get down here immediately, there's been a dreadful accident!"

"Paris here," I heard, "A medical team is on the way."

"Understood," I said, trying to remain calm.

"What happened, sir?" he asked.

"I had a nightmare and Seven tried waking me from it. I knocked her across my quarters. She's badly injured." My voice cracked at the end.

"Sir," he said, "Try to calm down. The medical team will be there in a moment. Don't try to move her."

"I have no intention of moving her," I said, "Dragon out."

The medical team, led by Paris entered and examined Seven.

"Let's get her to sickbay," he said. "Paris to transporter room. Five to beam directly to sickbay, medical priority one."

They beamed to Sickbay, where I beat them with my teleport by mere microseconds.

"Activate EMH!" I yelled.

"Please state the natu...my God!" he said as he saw Seven.

Paris said, "She's suffered major injuries. Flailed chest, her right arm is broken and both legs. Punctured lungs, both of them. Her cranial implant is damaged."

Hearing the extent of her injuries was just too much and I sat down, in tears, as the EMH began to repair her injuries. He'd be busy for a while.

Naomi came in and saw what happened. She sat down next to me and gave me what I really needed and that was a hug.

"Seven will be OK," Naomi said.

"No, she'll never be all right, Naomi. I don't think she can forgive me. I do not deserve it."

"What happened?" she asked, obviously wondering what happened to her friend. I told her and she merely absorbed it. Seven's influence was telling.

"Dragon," Naomi said, "It wasn't your fault. It sounds like a bad nightmare that you had and you reacted automatically. Could you have known it was really Seven or a dreamed Seven? Also, did you know that you're in mini-dragon form?"

I looked at myself and realized that she was right. I must have actually shape changed in my sleep. I changed back to human and wiped my eyes.

"I'm not sure, Naomi. One minute, I was on a cube, seeing myself as a drone, then, Seven was there and then, she was at the far side of the quarters."

"You see," she said, "I don't think that you really knew. I get confused when I wake up from a nightmare, why shouldn't you be the same?"

Paris came over, "She's a smart kid, isn't she?"

I nodded.

"She's right, sir. You couldn't have known if it was real or in your dream. Doc has her in surgery, but, he thinks that the damage isn't that severe. Her nanoprobes are responding to the emergency and helping to regenerate her bones and repairing other injuries. Admiral, she'll be fine. She couldn't be in better hands."

About an hour later, most of the senior staff had heard about the accident and come by to cheer me up. They all understood what had happened. Seven was already out of surgery and resting comfortably.

The Doctor called me into his office and proceeded to update me on her condition, which was still serious and that she would be spending at least a few hours in sickbay, mainly to ensure that her implants would recover. Her biological damage was repaired, but, I worried about how she would react.

"Doc," I said, "I've never been so ashamed in all my life. Seven seemed to be concerned for me and almost died because of that. I don't know if I can face her for a while."

"You'll be relieved to know that she woke up for a few moments after the operation and asked to see you. She didn't seem angry at the time, though."

I nodded and went to look in on her, guilt plaguing my soul anyway and would until she woke up. If she forgave me, I would try to forgive myself. If not, it was a long voyage home.

She was resting comfortably and I could see by her vitals that she was stable. I took her hand.

"Seven...Annika," I began, "I don't know if you can hear me, but, I want you to know that I am very sorry for what happened to you. I don't expect you to forgive me and I know that you feel that an apology is irrelevant, but, I need to give you one. Everyone says that they understand what happened and that they don't hold anything against me. But, Seven, I hold it against myself. I went too long without proper rest and you suffered as a result. I will bear this dishonor."

Her eyes fluttered open and saw me there, trying to hold back a fresh onslaught of tears.

"You are upset," she said weakly, "I heard what you said to me. There is nothing to apologize for, nothing to forgive, Dragon. Don't blame yourself. I heard your distress and came in to help, the fault is mine."

I smiled despite myself, knowing that Seven, in her own way, had forgiven my actions. I realized then, that my feelings for the former Drone went above friendship.

"How do you feel?" I asked.

"I've been better," she replied, "I feel like my ribs have been damaged."

"Not physically, Seven," I said, "Emotionally or mentally, I meant."

"I'm upset," she replied, "I shouldn't have tried to wake you in that state. You kept screaming about Borg and assimilation tubes. I saw you change form and I reacted to help. I'm sorry for the pain you are feeling."

I took her hand and caressed it, wishing that I could use my healing touch to help her, but, the EMH had already taken care of her physical wounds.

"Don't be sorry, Seven," I said, "Part of me is glad that you wanted to help. You've finally gotten in touch with your humanity and your instincts. I'll adapt. I shouldn't stay long. Doc will complain if I keep you from getting your rest and regeneration. Get some regular sleep, then, regenerate in the alcove for as long as the doctor says to."

Seven looked at her hand and saw me caressing it. She made no move to remove her hand.

"I care about you, too," she said. I grinned, "How about a date when you're up to it?"

"I'd like that," she said in reply. I gave her a kiss on the cheek and left, knowing that something good had happened out of a near tragic occurrence. The EMH gave me a glare as I walked by. If I didn't know better, I'd've sworn he was getting jealous.

I returned to my quarters and laid down. Gabrielle was with one of her other babysitters and they left a padd saying to get some rest and that they'd take care of her for a few extra hours. I authorized a few extra holodeck hours for B'Elanna since she gave up her free time to come to my aid. Paris also would benefit since he was also helping. Even with our problems, they cared enough to take some of the stress off of me for a few hours. I fell asleep thanking whoever was watching out for Seven and I. They were earning their "pay".

I awoke 8 hours later, fully refreshed and went to see how Seven was doing. It turned out that she had gone to her alcove for further regeneration and I didn't want to bother her if I could help it. I started walking around the decks for a while and, somehow ended up near Janeway's quarters. The guards recognized me and let me pass. I needed to talk and she was a good listener when she wanted to be.

"Hi, Captain," I said, "I just came by to see how you were holding up."

"Well," Janeway replied, "I've got a lot of free time on my hands now. I heard that there was some excitement earlier. Want to talk about it?"

I told her what happened and as Janeway listened, I could see her face getting a tad angry, but, considering that Seven was OK, her face softened, especially when I told her about my feelings towards Seven.

"I suppose that I should give you a chewing up one side and down the other," she said, "But, I know you well enough that you gave yourself a major dressing down, right?"

"Yes, Ma'am," I said, "You think I'm hard on the crew at times, I'm hardest on myself when I screw up, Kathryn. If this were any other crewmember, I'd put them on report and I intend to put myself on report when I see Tuvok."

"You'll do no such thing," she said, "I might be relieved of command right now, but, I can't let you punish yourself for what sounds like an honest accident. Let it go. Seven isn't holding a grudge, is she?"

"No," I replied, "She's regenerating and accepted my offer to take her on a date later on."

"That's good news!" Janeway said, "It's about time you realized what's going on. Chakotay and I noticed it for the last few months how you and her were getting along. Seven even asked me a few weeks ago how she could get your attention romantically. I didn't think that you'd end up clobbering her like that. But, things might work out in the end."

I then updated her on what I told the Federation and she was surprised. I expected a reply any moment and it was not going to be a good one, I feared. At best, they'd agree to my "terms". At worst, they'd strip me of rank and court-martial me alongside Janeway. I was not looking forward to their reply at all.

Janeway was sympathetic to my plight and agreed that I had to make a stand somehow. She joked that she'd rubbed off on me a little too much. I promised to give her some freedom if it was possible to spend time in the holodeck. I also had hoped for plans to re-instate both of them if the Federation agreed to my "Terms".

"Don't get your hopes up, sir," she said, "You're taking a huge risk and I'd hate to think that they called your bluff."

"What bluff, Kathryn?" I retorted, "They know that I don't bluff unless I have to. This is serious. There's a lot of Class M worlds here that I can settle on and, if any crewmember or officer wants to join me, I will welcome the company. The Federation can't do much if the Borg will not cooperate, and I can ensure that. The UFP wouldn't exist in it's current form if I hadn't been able to convince the people of Earth that we can co-exist peacefully with alien species. They only need examine their history books."

"That's true," she said after a moment, "I still wonder if that war we missed could have been prevented."

"Doubtful," I replied, "Some species still would have started a conflict. Look at the first Federation-Klingon conflict. They just wouldn't listen to reason, so we had to fight. At least the two sides are friends again after that war."

My commbadge chirped, "Dragon to the Bridge. We got company. One Borg Cube has dropped out of transwarp."

That didn't sound good to me. "I'm on my way," I replied.

To Janeway, "You might want to prepare for a fight, Captain, or at least being grabbed by a tractor beam."

I turned and walked to her doors and left. I figured that there was no sense in waiting, so I teleported to the bridge.

"Hail the cube, Mr. Kim," I replied.

"Channel open," he replied a moment later.

"We are the Borg. You have a high priority message from the Federation Council," that voice of theirs said. It was still ghastly sounding, foreshadowing evil, even if they were somewhat friendly or at least neutral to us.

"Let's hear it," I said.

"This message is encrypted and requires your voice verification," the Collective said.

"Fine. Download the message to this vessel and stand by for my response, please."

A moment later, Harry said, "The download is complete, sir. The Cube has severed communications."

"Play the message Harry," I said, "The senior staff needs to hear this."

The viewscreen displayed the Federation logo and the computer said, "Voice Verification is required to play this message."

"This is the Dragon, computer, play the message, please," I commanded.

"Voiceprint verified," the ship's computer replied.

The face of Admiral Paris appeared.

"Greetings, Dragon. The Federation has received your message and they asked me to reply. They are not pleased that you threatened to resign and renounce your citizenship. However, they have relented, fearing the loss of your services to the Federation. You have been given your 60 days to prepare any defense for your Captain, but, you have been given a written reprimand for not putting the Captain and First Officer into the Brig.

"Starfleet is not pleased that their orders have been refused, but, Starfleet is also painfully aware of your absence and the vacuum it creates for the Federation. Their original intent was to strip you of rank, however, the threat of a termination of the Borg Alliance and resulting assimilation was enough to give them pause to reconsider. We cannot withstand a prolonged conflict with the Collective and the mere mention of a termination of the Alliance that has already benefited millions of Federation Citizens and Starfleet officers is not welcome news.

"Admiral, from one flag officer to another and as your friend...Don't push your luck. The Council was in a state of collective wrath at your comments, and, any further defiance may completely overcome your reputation and honor. Please don't make us call your bluff. Paris out." The logo reappeared for a moment before the stars reappeared on the screen.

We all breathed a sigh of relief. I could live with the reprimand and had no intention of further pressing my luck with the Federation. I sat down in my chair and, for the first time in days, felt the pressure ease a little bit.

"Mr. Paris, continue on course for that refueling stop. We're going to need it, I think. Mr. Tuvok, effective immediately, you're on detached duty to assist in the defense of the Captain and First Officer. Work with Seven of Nine after she completes her regeneration after the mishap. I want as good of a defense as possible. Collect whatever evidence you can find to assist in their defense. If you need character witnesses, this crew stands ready to cooperate. We've already lost a day and a half and need to get that made up ASAP.

"I'll be in the ready room, replying to this latest message."

I rose and went into the ready room to give my reply. Unlike the first one, this one, I knew what I was going to say.

"Computer, begin recording message to the Federation Council, Starfleet Command and Admiral Paris. Route through the Borg Cube for immediate delivery.

"Esteemed members of the Federation Council, Starfleet Command and Admiral Paris. I accept and acknowledge the written reprimand you desired to lodge against me without further comment.

"I want to thank you for showing the restraint that I was hoping for as well as the delay in the proceedings. We may require an extra two days or so, due to an on board mishap involving myself and Seven of Nine. This mishap, I respectfully place at your feet. This occurred as a direct result of your ill considered actions that caused a severe nightmare to happen to me and Seven accidentally was injured trying to help me. Her injuries were life-threatening at the time, but, she will fully recover according to our holographic Doctor. This is of little concern now.

"I am requesting all data that the Federation has and any and all evidence against Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay. We will run a Board of Inquiry here on Voyager at the first available opportunity, though, to determine the need for an actual court-martial. I, of course, must recuse myself from running this Board of Inquiry and request that someone from the JAG office preside over the meeting. I will coordinate with the Collective to relay the subspace meetings in real-time. They have the resources to do this feat and falls under the alliance guidelines. They will cooperate, I hope.

"I did not enjoy having to draw down on my accrued store of trust and honor, as well as putting my reputation on the line. However, I felt that I had to move to protect this crew and their rightful leadership. I'll admit that I am strongly biased in this matter. Anyone who knows what we've been through, really knows, would understand why I'm biased.

"In the interest of fairness, I will not plan on resisting any further orders, however, I do reserve that right, should it arise. Times change, members of the Council, and I can hope that they change for the better with this crew.

"I do wish to clarify one point that was raised. There was no threat intended, expressed, implied or otherwise regarding a termination of the Borg Alliance. I had run tactical simulations within the last few months and the situation, if the Alliance was terminated, would be hopeless. Within two Earth years, the Federation, Klingons and Romulans would fall to the Collective. Humanity would be quickly reduced to a few individuals trying to escape assimilation. I wouldn't be able to handle the guilt. The Alliance is as strong today as it has been in the past few months. It benefits both the Collective as well as the Alpha Quadrant as a whole.

"That said, and comfortable in the facts that I know and will certainly make the Federation aware of, I shall sign off. Live long and Prosper. Dragon out."

A moment later, the message had been delivered. My commbadge chirped.

"State your intentions," the Borg said without preamble.

"Our intentions are to go towards a planet in spatial grid 645-D6 in order to refuel our vessel, then continue towards the Alpha Quadrant with all due speed. I intend to release your vessel in a few moments. I may require assistance in the near future to initiate a sub-space transmission to the Alpha Quadrant that needs to be relayed quickly. Would you make all necessary arrangements with the required Borg vessels?"

"Yes," the Borg stated and the link went silent as the nearby Cube left as quickly as it came.

I left the Ready Room and went back to my center seat. "Report," I said to Tom.

"We are on course for our pit stop. At current speed, we will be there in 5.57 days. Neelix and Ensign Wildman were dropped off by the Borg Cube while you were away. Neelix found your leftover dinner from the other night and pronounced it the best he'd ever tasted. Ensign Wildman wanted to thank you for watching Naomi while she was away."

"Sounds like you've been busy, Tom," I said.

"Not anymore than usual, sir," he replied.

I looked at the chronometer and saw that there were a few hours left on the shift and got determined to enjoy them while I could. Fortunately for me, this actually happened and the shift went by without any further excitement. I had the ship's speed increased, mainly because the sooner we re-fueled, the sooner we would get home and I was in favor of that, as long as we weren't dragged there by some Borg vessel.

Seven's long range scans had determined that our stop was a Demon Class World, which would require my assistance. It was severely taxing on my abilities, but, worth it in case someone got into trouble. But, that 500°K was a bear to deal with, even for a few seconds. The radiation was no picnic, either and was the higher threat to my immortality. While my body would heal quickly from the heat burns, it took a while to fight off the radiation effects if they were strong enough. Several times, I ended up in sickbay with extreme radiation poisoning and got chewed by the EMH, who seemed to enjoy that. I wondered if the Borg hadn't inserted a few sub-routines of their own, but, originality was not one of their traits unless the Queen had done it. The drones merely complied with what the Queen said, even if the command was to dive into a star. She'd been known to blow up her own craft to eliminate malfunctioning drones from what Seven told me in the past. That was worth a shudder, to say the least.

I headed back to my quarters to get some rest. I was still feeling wiped out by the mishap with Seven as well as the stress of the last few days.

On the way there, I decided to check up on Seven and see how she was doing. My stop in sickbay only determined that the Doctor had sent her to her alcove to regenerate for at least 12 hours. The Doctor was also adamant that she be left alone and practically shooed me out of the sickbay.

"You look tired, Dragon," he said, running his tricorder over me, "Your blood sugar levels are depressed, serotonin levels elevated as well as other waste products. Get some sleep, that's an order."

"Aye, Doctor," I said. I changed form to teleport.

"No," the EMH said, "I would appreciate it if you went normally. I'd rather have to carry you to your quarters as opposed to declaring you dead due to a teleportation mishap.

"Besides, the tricorder also picked up some elevated pheromones from you and, surprisingly enough, Seven seemed to be displaying similar reactions. Most interesting."

"Doc," I said, changing form back, "I realized something earlier today."

"I know," he replied, cutting me off, "It doesn't take a hologram to see that you're in love with Seven. She feels the same about you, I think. She was worried how you were adapting to the accident in your quarters."

"I'll live, Doctor," I said with a grin, "She understood what happened, and that makes a lot of difference to me. She reminds me a little bit of someone I knew in the distant past. We'll talk later. I seem to recall a medical order being given, so, I'll take my leave for now."

"Good night, Admiral," he said as I left. He was right, now that I wasn't distracted, I was really beginning to feel the pull of sleep on my limbs. If I teleported, I might have emerged in the warp core...a fatal mistake that would result in permanent death if I emerged on the anti-matter side as well as possible destruction of Voyager milliseconds later as my stored power would probably be released as well and causing a breach.

I used the turbolift and got to my quarters. Gabrielle was still with her daily baby-sitters and I let them know that they'd have to hold onto her for a while, with the proper additional holodeck time bonus or additional replicator rations given.

I went to bed shortly after that and was asleep within seconds, I thought. This time, my dreams were peaceful ones.

I awoke 8 hours later and realized that I was getting pretty hungry. After altering my clothing to a more casual style, I headed for the mess-hall, where Neelix was waiting for people to come in.

"Hi, Neelix," I said, "Mind getting me some coffee?"

"Not a problem, sir," he said and a few moments later, had sat down across from me with the hot drink. Normally, I didn't drink coffee, but, I was in a good mood for a change.

"How goes the captaining?" he asked.

"I'm not enjoying it, Neelix," I said, "This situation is one big Charlie-fox as far as I'm concerned."

"What?" he said.

"Sorry," I apologized, "Charlie-Fox is an old Earth military term, actually the old United States military, that basically meant that a situation is pretty bad. Different branches had a slightly different turn of phrase, more crude, actually. But, it still meant the same.

"I'd like to personally get my hands on the person or persons responsible for putting the Captain and Chakotay into this mess. It's not like it would have waited a few more years since there's no time limit to charge someone with a PD violation. That and Murder are the only crimes that have no statute of limitations."

"This is weird," Neelix agreed, "How is the Captain holding up?"

"Bravely," I replied, "It's hard on her, though. She could use a visit from our morale officer. So could Chakotay, if I was reading him correctly a few days ago."

"I tried to visit, but, the guards said 'No visitors'."

"I'll tell them that you're permitted to visit them as needed. It must have been after normal hours, then. However, the morale officer needs to be able to keep the spirits of the prisoners up.

"You've got my authorization to take them whatever they need, short of weapons or other items that could be used to escape, of course. I'm not putting them on a 'bread and water diet', that's for certain!"

"I had some of that Earth dish you fixed a few days ago," Neelix said, "You must show me how to make that sometime."

"On one condition, Neelix," I replied, sipping the coffee, "No leeola roots. Also, please try to follow the recipe as closely as you can. I used up half of my stored rations feeding the crew, so, I really cannot help there too much."

"Deal," he said, "I'll keep the roots out of the recipe. Besides, I ran out a few days ago."

There was a cheer from the few others that were in the mess hall. I figured that within a few hours, everyone on board would know that the "curse" of leeola root stew had ended once and for all.

I suppressed a chuckle. Neelix had just admitted that he was out of his favorite plant and it wouldn't have been right to further embarrass the poor guy.

"Well, at least those guys' morale is better," he said, dismissing the embarrassment. He certainly was one of a kind with his ability to not get offended over little matters, but, there were the times when he got offended, especially when it came to Naomi.

By then, it was time for me to get Gabrielle from her sitter, so I took my leave of Neelix after promising to get him a copy of the lasagna recipe at my earliest opportunity.

When I arrived at Lt Carey's quarters, Gabrielle was happy to see me and raced over to give me a hug.

"Where you a good girl?" I asked. She nodded, obviously. I looked over at Carey and he nodded.

"She's a doll, sir," he said, "No trouble at all. I just gave her a bath and dinner, which she seemed to enjoy."

"Excellent," I said with a smile, "Lt. Carey, you have a choice of added holodeck time or additional replicator rations, both usable whenever you feel like it."

"I'll take the rations, sir. There's certainly going to be times when Neelix does that blasted stew of his and I can't stomach that stuff anymore."

"Well," I replied, "I'll authorize an additional day's worth, but, Neelix just told me that he ran out of leeola roots."

"Woo Hoo!" he said, then looked embarrassed, "Sorry, sir, it won't happen again."

"Forget about it," I said, "I'll probably be hearing similar shouts and cheers all through the ship over the next few hours. I'm not going to hold that against anyone. I was getting tired of it as well, to be honest."

"Thank you, sir," he said, "I'm looking forward to watching her again."

"No problem," I said, "with my increased duties, you'll get plenty of chances to baby-sit. But, there seems to be a informal competition to see who gets to watch her. It seems that a lot of people want to score some added 'brownie points' with me and taking care of the little one here seems to be the ticket many are looking for. But, I will have to narrow the list down to those that I trust and Gabrielle likes. If she's miserable, I can't force her to go a second time.

"We'll certainly be calling on you again, though, right, Gabrielle?"

Gabrielle nodded her head, getting what I meant. I made a mental note to ask the EMH to measure her intelligence as best he could and see how smart she was. I knew that she was already smarter than most humanoid children her age. I know that Naomi enjoyed playing with her.

I wondered if her cranial implant had anything to do with her higher intelligence, though. If so, I would have to consider leaving it alone or upgrading it as she grew. My ethical problem was that I did not want her dependant on Borg technology unless it was necessary. Seven had told me that it was extremely rare for a neonatal drone to be forced out of the maturation chamber so early, and if the brain hadn't fully developed, the cranial implants/cortical nodes were vital...removing them would certainly kill the drone unless replaced within a minute or two at most.

If so, Gabrielle was in for a lifetime of replacements and/or upgraded implants. I was already glad for the EMH's increased medical database. The Collective had shared all their medical knowledge and that included Gabrielle's race, fortunately. The EMH, in turn and part of the original agreement, had developed improved techniques and relayed them to the Collective where the data was assimilated. I hoped that our EMH's new techniques were passed over to the Federation where they would be of use.

It was interesting, though. I had heard that his skills had been passed on to the EMH mark 3, mark 4, and mark 5 series. We had, in turn, received the upgraded EMHs, but, kept them as backups if our Mark 1 had problems. I didn't feel right just installing the newer versions over our current EMH. I had no idea what would happen, to be honest. It wasn't like if I could just go down to the holodeck and run experiments on the backup of our current EMH to see what would change, besides the physical parameters.

As stubborn and big-headed as the Mark 1 we operated tended to be, he had developed a decent bedside manner and his invaluable assistance in helping Seven reclaim her humanity did not deserve being "re-programmed" without his consent. We owed him that much, and then a whole lot more, I felt. I also remembered the chewings I gave to several crewmembers and officers who were treating the EMH as if he did not exist or was a walking medical database. He'd expanded his basic programming to the point that I thought of the EMH as a flesh and blood doctor who I would trust with my life if I had actually been injured to the point of temporary death and required some medical protection until I was able to be revived or revived on my own.

After I left Carey's quarters, I decided to make a pit stop to see the Captain and Chakotay. Both loved seeing Gabrielle and that, in itself, is a morale booster for anyone on board. Gabrielle might have been my child officially, but, no child had 150+ adoptive parents. The crew adored her, and it's not because of my dual-ranks or Seven's more direct, blunt ways. Gabrielle was just a lovable infant. I worried about Naomi, though. She's the first born child on Voyager and while she still holds that title and always will, the affections of the crew seemed to have shifted from Naomi to Gabrielle over time. But, I think that the crew realized that there should be enough love to go around. Besides, even though it was unintentional half the time, the crew did seem wary of incurring my wrath, even the Marquis members seemed to know that crossing me is comparable to ticking off a pack of Klingon targs or a wild Vulcan sehlat. It was difficult the first few months after we were stranded here, but, sometimes, my presence was a hindrance when the Marquis crew members clashed with the Starfleet crew, but, after Chakotay used a rather mean right-hook on one of his former crew, they started to toe the line more with how Janeway wanted things done and they quickly found that while I was trying to stay neutral, if either Janeway or Chakotay had to refer any crewmembers to me for disciplinary action, I'd come down on the person quite harshly if the facts warranted the actions.

"How about we go see Aunt Kathy, Gabrielle?" I asked her.

"OK," she said, squirming to get down, "Wanna walk!"

"It's a long way to walk, kid," I said, putting her down anyway. Gabrielle needed to learn endurance and the walk to see Janeway was as good as any to begin teaching her. I already had her at walking about 25 meters before she would be able to get a lift. I was going to try for 50 meters today and see how she tolerated it. If she handled it without any problems, I would stay at that distance for a while, then, add more to it slowly.

I held her hand, though, as we walked to see the Captain and, before we knew it, we had walked well past 50 meters.

I stopped and crouched down to her, "Want to keep walking, or you want to be carried?"

"Walk!" she demanded. I shrugged and we continued on the way. I knew that shortly, she would want to be picked up. Sure enough, when we got to the turbo-lift, she looked up and said, "Carry, please."

I chuckled and picked her up, "I knew that you couldn't walk all the way, kiddo. But, I'm proud of you for walking all that way. That deserves a treat when we get back, doesn't it?"

"Strawbewwy?" she asked. I nodded. It seems that Seven had shown Gabrielle a particular treat.

"Sure," I said, "I could go for some myself, actually. Maybe Aunt Seven would like to join us?"

"Momma likes those," Gabrielle said. I sighed quietly. Seven was a mom whether she liked it or not and with the Doc disabling her emotional restrictor a few weeks ago, Seven had really opened up. She was sometimes confused by her stronger emotions, but, with her friends helping her to adjust, it was getting easier.

I remembered when she had actually cried for the first time. Her and I were talking about the superdrone that had been created accidentally and at the subject of his death, her grief finally came to the surface. She sobbed into my shoulder for a long time while I tried to comfort her and explain that it was normal to grieve for a lost loved one. Seven never could admit until then that she had loved One like a son and his sacrifice had almost caused a shutdown at the time. If she hadn't of gone to her alcove, she probably would have "malfunctioned". She even apologized for her loss of control!

"Seven," I had told her, "don't apologize for being human again. It might surprise you to know that I felt the loss as much as you would have at the time and I think I shed the tears for both of us afterwards. Even I do mourn a death, but, One made the only choice he could and saved us in the process. His deactivation/death was one of the noblest things I ever witnessed and one of the most honorable deaths that any culture would respect. B'Elanna told me that he was certainly in Sto-vo-Kor, and she's not that religious.

"Grief, even repressed as yours, needs to be vented at some point, Seven. It doesn't to anyone good to keep that tight of control unless the person is a Vulcan, and even they will grieve in their own ways and privately. They'll meditate or be with their spouse and family and, as you know, no other Vulcan will intrude on that private time unless there's a very good reason.

"He's the one who totally convinced me that maybe not all Borg were evil, Seven. You, of course, were the initial drone who could adapt to a complete change from an evil personality to someone that I would trust with my life. Your being level headed under extreme pressure is an asset to every member of the crew.

"Just don't keep your emotions too wrapped up. I'm always available if you need to talk things out or even use as a 'punching bag' if you ever were to feel the need to punch someone. I heal a lot quicker than anyone else in the crew and I wouldn't take it personally."

"Beating up a crew member would get me thrown into the brig, Dragon," she said, wiping her eyes. Gabrielle was confused by the change in Seven and picked up on her mental distress and started crying softly.

"That is normally true, Seven, but, you have my permission, so that's different." I went to get the baby, but, Seven cut me off and picked her up.

That had an effect on the two of them. Seven smiled and Gabrielle looked up and touched Seven's cranial interface, like she wanted to use it, but, that was impossible. Seven went impassive again as Gabrielle's tiny fingers roamed Seven's interface and skin.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Gabrielle accessed my cranial implant somehow! She didn't hurt me, though, just surprised. A drone needs assimilation tubes or a neural interlink to do that."

"Interesting. I thought the Doctor had removed that implant a few months ago."

"He did," Seven replied, puzzled. I wondered if it had regenerated or if this was a fluke. I made a mental note to take Gabrielle in for a checkup.

But, as I remembered that incident, we reached the Captain's Quarters.

I buzzed and there was no answer. I wonder if she's sleeping, I thought. I buzzed again and still there was no answer.

"Computer, override lock on Captain Janeway's quarters, authorization Dragon Alpha 1143," I said. The door opened and I peeked in. What I saw was enough that I handed Gabrielle to the nearest guard and raced in, the other guard behind me.

Janeway was on the floor, her wrists cut deeply.

"Keep that baby out of here," I snarled to the guard.

"Dragon to transporter room 1...Medical emergency. Lock in on Janeway's commbadge and transport directly to sickbay as well as myself, priority Alpha 1!"

That meant that any transports waiting would be forced to wait a tad longer as the Captain and myself were transported to sickbay. The doctor was off-line.

"Computer, Activate EMH, now!" I said.

The Doc appeared and said, "Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

"It's the captain," I said, "She's tried to commit suicide!"

The Doc shoved me aside and examined the Captain.

"She's lost a lot of blood. Her wrists have deep cuts, severing tendons and blood vessels. Did you bring her directly here?"

"Yes, Doctor," I said, "I didn't want to risk my healing touch."

"That was a good decision, Admiral," he said, "The effort would have killed her. She'd lost enough blood that the attempt would have failed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a patient to treat."

I waved the EMH on to do his job, and he started muttering to himself in the process. I only caught a few bits and pieces, mainly that she'd lost a lot of blood and he couldn't risk a blood expander. She was in a deep coma, and the prognosis was not that good.

"Dragon to Security Team 2. Bring Chakotay to Sickbay, immediately. Tell him that something happened to the Captain."

"Acknowledged," one of Chakotay's guards said. A moment later, I heard, "Medical Emergency!"

"Damn!" I said and after a quick shape change, teleported to Chakotay's quarters. He, too, was on the floor, but, without any obvious wounds. I picked him up and teleported to Sickbay.

The EMH ran a scanner over Chakotay and muttered, "Poison. He's also in a coma. Vital signs are deeply depressed."

"I'll be right back, Doctor," I said, playing a hunch. If correct, time was important, so I teleported back to his quarters and looked around. I saw an old style mortar and pestle. I looked into it and saw the remains of crushed leaves and a paste.

I walked over to the replicator, "Computer, what were the last 10 items requested from this replicator?"

"Unable to comply. That information has been locked out."

"Well, unlock it. Authorization Dragon Alpha 1102," I ordered.

The replicator gave me the list of the herbs Chakotay had ordered. As I feared, in a separate order, the computer would merely comply. If Chakotay had ordered them pre-refined, the computer would have refused and triggered an alert to sickbay as well as myself.

"Computer, you will no longer dispense the herbs Commander Chakotay ordered through the replicators without my direct authorization. Set authorization code Dragon Gamma 369 and lock to my voiceprint."

"Acknowledged," the computer said, "New access code accepted and locked."

I hated to do that, but, until I knew that this was a one time event, I was not about to risk a repeat. I got the remains of the leaves and paste and went back to sickbay.

"it's about time that you got back here," the EMH said, "I need to know what the Commander took so I can treat it."

"Here you go," I said, "It's an herbal mixture."

"Excellent!" he said. He went over to the sickbay replicator and got the right stuff to give to the Commander. After giving it to him, he motioned me into his office.

"Admiral," he said, "Captain Janeway needs a lot of blood to replace what she lost and a lot of rest. I'm monitoring her for signs of brain damage. I've had to keep her in a coma to protect her higher brain functions. The captains injuries were caused by a knife she must have procured recently. They were quite deep, I'm afraid.

"The commander is also in bad shape. He took enough of those herbs that he should be dead already. He's got a strong will to live and should recover in a few days. Fortunately, thanks to my skill, both will be fine physically. Mentally...I wish we had a regular counselor on board."

"This ordeal shouldn't have sent both over the edge, though, Doctor," I replied, "Both have handled situations that were more difficult, but, it looks like I got my work cut out for me. Let me know when either of them is recovered enough to answer some questions.

"Before you object, I will need to act as their personal counselor. I need to know why they tried this stunt. It's not like either of them."

I was deeply concerned at their state of mind. Nothing was making sense and I was beginning to wonder if Q had anything to do with our present situation.

"Well, the Captain will need to remain in her coma for at least three days until I'm sure that she is replacing her blood loss and her internal organs are undamaged. In a day or so, you might be able to speed up that process somewhat. I'll know more by then.

"Chakotay should recover in a few hours, though, but, I'm going to keep him here for at least 24 hours to be on the safe side."

"Please keep me informed," I said, "If you don't mind, I need to head back to Gabrielle. I was somewhat in a hurry and handed her off to a guard. She's probably frightened."

"She might be, but, I think she's got that emotional inhibitor active. That might protect her and, to be honest, while Seven no longer needs hers, it might be good for Gabrielle to keep hers for a few more years."

"I'll have to think about it, Doctor," I said, "I don't want to shield her from all of her emotions."

"I understand," he said, "I need to check on my patients anyway. If anything major happens, I'll let you know."

I left sickbay and returned to the Captain's quarters and picked up Gabrielle.

"Wanna see Aunt Kathy!" she exclaimed.

"Well, little one," I said, "Aunt Kathy had an accident. I had to take her to see the Doctor so she can get better. I'll take you to see her in a few days, though, kiddo."

"Unca Chakokay?"

"You're pretty good, Gabrielle," I replied, "He's not feeling well. He ate something that he shouldn't have and had to also see the Doctor. We can visit him soon, though."

"Awwww!" she said. That just about summed up my emotions as well, but, for a different reason. I was still worried about them both. Had they entered into some kind of suicide pact? Or was this some sort of coincidence. I was still pondering if Q had been playing a game, but, the times he visited us, he was quite serious and not in a game playing mood like he normally was with Jean-Luc Picard. Also, I had a feeling that he wouldn't intentionally hurt Janeway. He seemed to have more than a passing interest in her, almost like friendship, I thought at the time.

But, since she's the "godmother" of Q, the son of Q and Q, I doubted that Q (the father) would allow her to die before Q (the son) had fully matured. Q (The mother) would have ample reason to hurt Janeway, but, seeing how Janeway brought Q (the parents) together, that was also not overly logical. But, then, the Q weren't subjected to the constraints of pure logic all the time.

As I returned to my quarters and placed Gabrielle down for a nap, I saw a distinctive flash of light in the room. Q (the father) had popped in for a visit.

"I couldn't help but notice your problems," he said in greeting.

"What do you want, Q?" I asked politely.

"To see how Kathy and Chuckles are doing," he replied.

"You don't know?" I asked.

"Nope. I've been busy lately in the Gamma Quadrant," he replied.

"Well, for your information, Captain Janeway and Chakotay are both in the care of the Doctor. Both tried to kill themselves," I said, "Also, both are relieved of duty by some idiotic Starfleet vendetta that suddenly happened. I was wondering if you had anything to do with this problem. But, I believe your statement about being in the Gamma Quadrant."

Q was impassive for the most part. But, he did look worried a little bit at the news of Janeway's suicide attempt.

"I couldn't hurt your precise captain," he said in his usual huff, "She's the godmother to my son, for Q's sake!"

"Q," I said, "Calm down before some nearby star goes nova on us, please. She'll be all right in a few days...unless you want to help a little bit?"

"Well," he said, "since you asked...why not?" He snapped his fingers and, sure enough, a moment later, my commbadge chirped.

"Sickbay to the Dragon," I heard.

"Dragon here," I said, "Let me guess...Both Janeway and Chakotay are awake and back to normal health?"

"How did you know?" he demanded.

"Well," I said, "Q decided to pay us a visit and did one of his rare good deeds for the era."

"I see," the EMH said, "I'm releasing them both to their quarters since they are both in perfect health. Doctor out."

"Rare good deeds?" Q asked, seemingly offended.

"You do not exactly have a perfect record with humanity, Q," I replied, "But, I am grateful for your help regardless of why or how often. I'm more willing to give the benefit of the doubt, Q, in that you are able to form friendships with beings whose lives are measured in nanoseconds to a Q."

"You're right," he said, surprising me in the process, "The Q owe a debt to you puny humans that we are having a hard time repaying."

"I am not exactly human, though, Q," I replied, "You know that I'm a dragon with some interesting abilities. But, I know how the Q feel. Many humans and other species feel that they always should repay me in some fashion for what I do naturally. Janeway did save your species from itself, but, you had to want to adapt for the better and that was the start.

"The Q can repay their debt by just acknowledging that you're grateful for our help once in a while. And, if we need the help of the Q, it's given freely and without reservation. Also, maybe try to give someone who is truly worthy, the power of the Q, even if it's limited."

"Well," Q said, "We've been impressed with you for a while now."

"If you're heading where I think you're heading, Q, that's not such a good idea to give me your powers. I'm honored by your statement, however."

"Come on," he replied, "We've been wanting to see how a non-Q will handle the immense powers handed to them. Our first try wasn't exactly a rousing success."

"I know about how you tried to tempt Commander Riker by giving him the power of the Q. That really wasn't fair play because you knew that he would become corrupted by the power. What would the Q have done if he turned against you and basically sealed everyone inside your realm? It could have happened, you know."

"We'd be stuck, obviously. That's an interesting point you've raised, but, the collective desire is to see how you can handle it. You've already developed a lot of skill and experience."

"That's true, Q. In my long lifetime, I've had to learn from my mistakes. Tell me something, Q. Has any member been punished for abusing their powers or shirking the responsibility that comes with the immense power of the Q?"

"Yes," he replied, "I've been punished with the loss of my powers and immortality. In fact, I requested to be put on the Enterprise. You should have read the reports Jean-Luc wrote concerning that incident. They weren't very funny."

"I can imagine. I'll have to look up his logs on that, but, now that you mention it, I recall that incident being mentioned around the Admiralty Hall with a few chuckles. Counselor Troi's mother bemoaned the fact that she wasn't there to see a Q as nature intended."

He blushed, "It was the most embarrassing moment of my eternal life. The other Q really got a laugh out of my sentence, but, it taught me a lesson I haven't forgotten. It was also quite painful."

"I know. I read Data's impressions a few months afterwards. He was puzzled as to why Guinan implanted a fork into your hand. He remarked that he felt weird when you gave him the gift of laughter and was grateful afterwards."

"That tin man should have been grateful," he said.

"Q," I said sternly, "I do not appreciate you calling Commander Data a tin man. If you want me to try your little experiment, it would be appreciated if you'd at least refrain from degrading comments. It also demeans a member of the Q and shows a lack of exemplary Q-ness and taste."

He grinned, "You've passed my little test. I wanted to see if you understood the meaning of being a Q and how a Q should behave. If you want the power of the Q, it's yours at your beck and call."

He left with his flash of light.

After he departed, I knew that he'd given me the power of the Q anyway. I figured that I would put it to good use somehow, but only when I really needed it. I knew that I had to return to Earth, though, and get to the root of Janeway and Chakotay's problems. That was a priority with me.

I decided that a senior staff meeting was needed to fully explain what had transpired.

"Dragon to all senior staff. There will be a meeting in the Conference Room in 30 minutes. This is an important staff meeting and all senior staff are urged to drop whatever they are doing and attend. Dragon out."

"Dragon to Tuvok. Please escort Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay to the Conference Room. I need to talk to them before the senior staff meeting. Thanks."

"Acknowledged," he said, "Tuvok out."

I walked to the Conference Room, after making sure that Gabrielle was being watched. Ensign Wildman was available, so her and Naomi headed for my quarters.

I arrived a few minutes before Janeway and Chakotay. Both stood at attention.

"At ease, folks. Have a seat," I said pleasantly. There was no sense yelling at them for a foolish impulse, I thought.

"There's something that's been bothering me for a little bit," I said, "I'm wondering why two of this ship's officers tried to kill themselves. But, before you explain, let me assure you that this is off-the-record and stays in this room. I suppose it had something to do with your confinement, correct?"

Janeway nodded, "Yeah, it was. Chakotay and I agreed that it would be better for all concerned if we were no longer here."

"Kathryn, Chakotay. You're two excellent officers. I'm not speaking as an admiral, but, as your friend. My stored reports have nothing but praise for the both of you, but, now, I might have to tarnish this record with a brief mention of this suicide attempt. This is unbecoming of a Starfleet officer unless there was no other choice in the matter.

"You're both well-respected not only by myself, but both Starfleet and Marquis crews. My door is always open to you, it always has and always will be. This crew needs their captain and First Officer and, effective immediately, you're both re-instated and released from custody on my personal authority."

"Can you do that, sir?" Janeway asked.

"I'll defer that answer to the staff meeting, Kathryn," I said, "Let's just say that Q is being a nice guy for once and in more ways than one."

Realization dawned in both their eyes, though.

"You're a Q, sir?" Chakotay asked for them both.

"I could never put anything past you," I replied, "Yes, I guess that I'm a Q for now. I haven't tested out my enhanced powers, but, I plan on returning to Earth, solo, and see what happened to cause your problems. I'll get the answers I seek, then, come back to Voyager to see it home, under it's own power, though. But, I'll let the crew decide, though.

"I do not plan on using my Q level powers that often since my normal powers are usually enough to give us that slight edge we've always enjoyed as well as our Borg friends also giving us an additional advantage."

"But, you're willing to use your new powers to intercede on our behalf and place yourself above the Federation and Starfleet," Janeway noted, "I think I speak for Chakotay when I ask you not to do this for us. We're both grateful that you're willing to do this, but, we both refuse this assistance."

I was puzzled, "Captain, I think you're jumping to conclusions. I'm not going to Earth to force them to drop the case and see things my way. I am seeking answers, not concessions by force, nothing more. If they still want to try you when we return, I won't stop them by force or otherwise. While the Q might want to interfere in such a manner, I do not think it's fair for anyone if I abused this new-found power. What I actually hope to do is change the nature of the Q so that they think about their actions before they affect other species."

"How would we know that you're going to just get answers instead of using force?" Janeway asked.

"You doubt me?" I asked in return, somewhat shocked that Janeway would doubt me, "Before you answer that question, I'm still the same person that you've known for the last eight years. Having to voluntarily give up my rank while on board to maintain a reasonable chain of command has changed who I am, Kathryn. I'd gotten so used to having that rank and people asking 'How high, sir?' whenever I said 'Jump', that this trip was an education in itself. I don't plan on using the Q powers to force the Federation to do something that they might not want to willingly do.

"On that, you have my word."

"No, Dragon," Janeway said, "I don't doubt you now. I had to see if you would change drastically with the power of the Q."

"Captain," I said, "In Earth's now distant past, I'd dealt with other beings with similar powers. There were various gods in ancient Greek Mythology. But, they were real enough to me when I had the opportunity to talk to them. They once offered me the food of the Gods to help stop an invasion from a being known as Dahok. I was eventually forced to become one of the Greek Gods for a while and it didn't change me to something worse. In fact, a few years after doing that, and when I was certain that Dahok would never return, I gave up those powers and asked that Zeus take them back. He was saddened by my request, but, he stripped the powers from me after seeing that I didn't really want them. I don't really want the power of the Q, either, but, I might as well try to enjoy it whenever possible or needed...but, more needed, I hope."

"Go on and do what you have to, sir," Janeway said as the doors opened and the senior staff started filing in. Seven was carrying Gabrielle for some reason. I shrugged my shoulders and motioned her to take her seat.

"Gabrielle was upset and Ensign Wildman asked me to relieve her when all efforts to calm Gabrielle proved futile," she explained. I nodded and went over to touch Gabrielle.

The rest of the senior staff found their seats and they all looked at me to see why I called the meeting on such short notice.

"A short while ago, as you know, there were several mishaps, some including Seven and myself. Others involved the Captain and First Officer that required a visit to sickbay for both of them.

"But, while I was in my quarters, I received a visitor. That visitor was Q."

There was some reaction from the senior staff, except the EMH, Seven and Tuvok, of course.

"While he was here, he took care of the Captain's injuries as well as Commander Chakotay's. The nature of the injuries is on a need-to-know basis, though.

"But, Q also did something else that Gabrielle here might have picked up on."

"What is that?" Tom asked.

I snapped my fingers and an apple appeared in my hand, causing a major reaction with the senior staff.

"You're a...?" B'Elanna asked. I nodded, "Yeah, I've been given the power of the Q. No, I did not ask for this nor desire it. But, I will take full advantage of it.

"Effective immediately, I'm reinstating the Captain and First Officer as well as releasing them from custody. I am heading home for a few days to see why the Federation and Starfleet are suddenly interested in alleged PD violations that might have occurred well away from the Federation and will have little effect on the stability of the quadrant. This is a solo trip back to Earth, however.

"I will, however, take the time to visit with your families and tell them how you are doing. I am sorry that I can't take you home just yet and rest assured that as soon as I know that no one will be arrested on sight unless they need to be, I'll drop this ship into Earth orbit or permit this crew to make the journey home ourselves and without my Q powers bringing us home. Either way, I am with this crew until such time as we all set foot on Earth as one crew and as a family.

"If you want to drop off more letters home, get them collected. I will leave in six hours. But, I do not want to be disturbed. I want to spend the time with Gabrielle and Seven.

"I'm sure that there have already been rumors and I want to confirm them partially. After the accident in my quarters, Seven and I realized that we share strong feelings for each other. Seven, I hope my change in status doesn't affect us too much. If it does, though, I will understand and adapt.

"But, there is something that I want to do in front of everyone. As you may know, I've been working on weaning Gabrielle off of her remaining implants and I'm worried that the implants would have interfered with her physical growth eventually. I am going to remove that worry at this time."

"Wait," the EMH said, "You've not had the time to learn to really control these powers. I cannot sanction this idea medically, until such time as I am certain that you are in full control."

He was right. I had just used my powers to create an apple for their first usage and while that was easy enough, I wasn't certain that I could fully control them. My trip to Earth would have to wait. I knew that I would make it home, but, if Starfleet didn't give me the answers I liked, my new powers would assert themselves with my mere thoughts. I needed to learn to finely control them.

"Thank you, Doctor," I said, "I am in agreement with you. I'm going to postpone this trip to Earth, but, I still want some quiet time when we're finished here. Tuvok, will you help me in learning to control my abilities as time permits?"

"I would be honored," he said, "I will set up a schedule for us to meet."

"Acceptable," I said, "Since we're here, let's just go ahead and have the daily meeting. Captain, the floor is yours."

The meeting lasted for another 90 minutes as Janeway got caught up on ship's business.


	3. A visit from Admiral Paris, a promotion ...

Chapter 3 

_ Personal log...Stardate 55010.4 It's been a few days since Q gave me his powers and my lessons with Tuvok to learn how to control them better and more logically. Starfleet still doesn't know about this incident as the Borg haven't been around since the last message I sent. This is a mixed blessing as I don't know when the Borg will appear. It's not that I couldn't find out with my enhanced abilities, I have no desire to find out._

_ Seven has adapted to the change pretty well considering everything that's happened and we've been spending a lot of spare time together now that we've basically admitted our feelings towards one another. I've pondered removing her implants as well as Gabrielle's, but, Seven would lose her unique talents. Her nanoprobes have saved the ship several times and, I can't forget Neelix owes his life to her nanoprobes repairing his fatal injuries. She would also lose her enhanced database since her cranial implant houses that information. I couldn't transfer it to her brain as the human brain is not designed to absorb that amount of information._

_ However, I did use my powers to see if Gabrielle could access Seven's implants. It did turn out to be a fluke on their part. After running through Gabrielle's remaining implants, I could see that while I could safely remove about half of them, she'd need the remaining ones for the rest of her life. I had no intention of altering her future with my new powers, but, I could use my powers to enhance her implants as she grew up._

_ Captain Janeway and Chakotay were glad to return to their posts several days ago and needled Harry on his promotion. Lt. Kim finally planned his little party with Neelix's assistance and he's got it planned for this evening, at 2000 hours. It took longer than he originally planned, with the rapid changes in our situation, but, it's finally scheduled. He's invited the entire crew to it, meaning that a skeleton crew would be running the ship in mini-shifts until the regular crew returned from the party. He's planning on using the Fair Haven simulation as the site of the party, and that would be interesting in itself, I thought. I wonder if he plans on using the characters from the simulation or just the scenery. The problem is that they've achieved limited sentience and would feel left out. For the most part, they've adjusted to the fact that some of their friends are from the stars and not nearby towns. It was scary, though, for a while. I still feel that Janeway got lucky in convincing Sullivan to believe what he would have considered to be an enchantment or spell. I recalled that particular period in Earth's history as it was before I could safely drop my cover. It was one of those long stretches of time when I didn't dare reveal my true self to mankind, but, allowed myself to become a mythological being._

_ Things around the ship are slowly returning to normal, but, I still have a feeling that something was about to happen that we wouldn't like too much. But, I dreaded the moment when I'd have to make a choice. I recalled my conversation with Will Riker a decade ago about the brief time he was given the power of the Q and promised Picard that he wouldn't use his new powers, even if it meant allowing someone to die or intervening on their behalf to restore their life. I, too, dreaded that choice because I knew that it would happen someday. Riker grieved because he was forced by his word to let someone, a young girl, die. That's when he almost forgot who he really was, until the senior officers on the Enterprise-D refused his gifts. That earned Q a rather nasty dressing down from the other Q and was pivotal in his eventual fall from glory for a while._

I do not know if I could force myself to let a crewmember die when a snap of my fingers would restore them to life in an instant. I do know that if Seven were to die, there was no way I would leave her dead unless she told me to let her die. I do know that if she reaches a ripe old age, I would let her die with dignity and put a word in for her with God to show some mercy.

As for me, I've got an interesting future ahead. I fully expect Q to return to take me on a tour of the universe or to use my powers more often or something. Also, I still need to know if I should actually keep these powers or tell Q that it was fun, but, I no longer want the powers. I'll hold onto them for now since they do enhance my natural abilities.

With my daily personal log finished, I headed over to visit Gabrielle for a while over in Astrometrics with Seven. I wasn't sure, but, I was beginning to think that the trip was going faster than it used to.

Another flash of light appeared and Q fell into step beside me.

"Why are you walking to Astrometrics when you can teleport there?" he asked.

"Because I'm not letting your gift change me, Q. I could see teleporting from _Voyager_ to Earth or some other distant place, but, I'm not wasting your gift on a ½ second teleport to Astrometrics unless it's needed. As I am just going to visit Seven and Gabrielle for a casual visit, there is no need," I replied.

"Well, that's a good reason," he said and continued to walk along side me. He still was insisting on wearing the Starfleet uniform.

"You know, Q," I said, "That uniform really doesn't become you. You've never been to the Academy and earned the right to wear it, much less those Admiral bars."

I waved a finger and Q's attire changed to something more suitable, a set of causal clothes, monogrammed with the letter "Q" on them. He looked down and saw the change.

"Mmmm," he said, "You've been learning how to use your powers. This actually fits me. I think I'll keep it."

"It's better than parading around the ship naked as the day the other Q dumped you into Picard's lap," I replied, "I'm glad that you like it. That's the finest Earth silk ever made."

"I know," he said, "I am Q, remember?" That was like the Borg's usual retort, "We are Borg."

As we walked, the klaxons sounded as the red alert lights came up.

"Red alert," Janeway's voice announced, "All hands to battle stations! Dragon to the Bridge."

I swore and teleported, using the Q teleportation method instead of my usual one.

I appeared and said, "Report, please."

Janeway merely looked at the screen. There were five Borg Cubes in our path.

"Open hailing frequencies," I said. From Kim, "Go ahead, sir."

"Dragon to the Borg. What is happening here?"

Admiral Paris' face appeared instead, he looked angry.

"This is Admiral Paris. What is the meaning of this? We gave express orders that Janeway and Chakotay were to be relieved of duty and detained. Now, I see that both are on the bridge. Explain yourself!"

It was obvious that this was a live hookup.

"Admiral, I believe that it's better if I explained this to you, face to face."

"That's impossible, Admiral, and you know it! I want an answer now, or I will relieve you of duty," he said.

"Nothing's impossible, Admiral. Also, you know that I outrank you, just on seniority alone, so don't ever threaten me again unless you want me to take it really personal."

He had the good sense to blanch a little bit. "What do you mean, nothing's impossible?"

I snapped my fingers and the crew saw Admiral Owen Paris disappear in a flash of light. A few seconds later, he appeared on the bridge.

"Welcome to _Voyager_," I said, "As I said, nothing's impossible."

"You've got the power of the Q?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yes, I got these a few days ago, actually. If you will follow me into the Ready Room, you will be given your answer, and I want some answers of my own."

He complied and I sat down. "Please, Owen, sit down. I don't bite, you know. Sorry to drag you out here. I had intended to visit personally tomorrow afternoon, but, I see that you've forced the issue.

"I re-instated the captain and first officer, on my personal authority, until such time that I am convinced otherwise. That's all the answer that you will receive, Admiral. I feel that what the Federation is trying to do is wrong and overreaches their authority. We haven't been able to call Starfleet for guidance and orders, much less any missions.

"Even from here, without the Borg relaying your signal, a subspace message would take at least 5.75 years to reach HQ and would probably be so degraded that it would be ignored."

"You want to know why, don't you?" he asked.

"That, and who? Doesn't that person realize that this is an extraordinary circumstance and we must do what we have to in order to get home as well as survival. And, we will get home, under our own power. I'm not going to snap my fingers and drop us into orbit around Earth or any other planet. Admiral, I'm not going to force the Federation into stopping this proceeding or something that violates the tenants we hold dear. When we are finished with our chat, I'll return you home, safe and sound, and with data that confirms that we were doing what we thought was right due to the lack of higher authority."

"Well, the who was Vice-Admiral McHenry of the JAG office," Paris replied, "He's a fairly new appointee who is a 'by-the-book' head of JAG. He felt that _Voyager_'s actions here warranted strict action. With the Borg Alliance, finding _Voyager_ was an easy task for him and he wanted to make an example out of the crew."

"Owen," I replied, "Other ship's captains have bent or even broken the Prime Directive without being forced to step down or submit to this humiliation.

"And, to be honest, since your last communication, the morale of this ship had reached an all time low and reached a near tragic level a few days ago. That, I cannot easily overlook. When you return, please remember to tell this new Admiral that he's got a powerful enemy in the Delta Quadrant. I did not like having to rescue both senior officers from a suicide attempt."

Admiral Paris' face drained of color for a moment before he regained his composure and said, "I'll tell him, Dragon, but, I hope that, for both your sakes, you don't desire revenge or anything stupid.

"But, you said that they both tried to kill themselves? Might I ask why?"

I replied, "That's a fair question, Admiral. These orders from this new guy sent them over the edge. Their life is this ship now. They've known nothing of the Federation and Starfleet for over half this time and, against all odds, including some incidents where this voyage should have been terminated for one reason or another, we've managed to survive. Both figured that if they were to die, things would settle down on board the ship. I probably would have been the captain and Mr. Tuvok, the new XO.

"That's why I reinstated them, Admiral. Once a member of the Q showed some mercy and healed their physical injuries, I knew that the best therapy for their injured mental state was to re-instate them and release them from custody. I'm not going to make excuses or further justify my decision, but, it will stand for the time being.

"As for revenge. You've known me for a long time, Owen. I don't seek actively revenge, I never have unless there was a valid reason for it. I may avenge a wrongful death, but, even then, I don't take much pleasure in it. There have been many times when I've gotten some 'petty revenge' against someone and called the debt settled, even if the wrong greatly outweighed the revenge I might have gotten. That JAG Admiral may have goofed up and my 'revenge' will be making him sweat my reaction/response for a while. It might or might not occur. It might be him facing court-martial or merely getting a swift kick in the pants...or nothing at all. I haven't decided, to be honest."

"You know that you can be stripped of rank for this act, correct?"

"As the Borg would say, 'rank is irrelevant'. I do not mean to place myself above the Federation and I would prefer not to be read that way. This ship comes first and has since we were stranded here. We've strived to uphold everything that we've been taught and merged two separate crews into one cohesive unit. One Starfleet Crew and the other Maquis, some with very little formal Starfleet Academy level training at the time of our stranding. We've overcome that. We've overcome the threat of the Kazon and their various sects. We've defeated the Borg Collective and saved not only the Delta Quadrant, but, the entire Galaxy from Species 8472.

"We didn't get any commendations for those actions except for the official notations in my personal logs and ship's logs.

"If you want to strip me of rank, fine. This crew will still look up to me, no matter what happens, Q powers or not. Regardless, I still view these proceedings as illogical and without sound merit.

"For one, how are you going to present the witnesses against Janeway at courts-martial? You cannot and if you cannot do that, you're denying her the rights provided under our Constitution and Starfleet regulations 143 through 145.3 and other relevant regulations and rulings of the JAG office.

"If we resign our commissions, en masse, you also have a limited case or none at all, especially if we set this ship down somewhere and 'de-commission' her ourselves.

"The choice is really yours, my friend. I don't make threats or anything like that, but, you've got a serious problem. I've got a ton of seniority and it would take a vote by the entire Federation Council to strip me of rank.

"Finally, as I said, that new JAG Admiral has made an enemy as I take this situation personally. And, Q Powers or not, no one needs me as an enemy.

"Admiral, you're here as a guest. I do apologize for dragging you out here and I'll return you when you want to leave. You're not a prisoner. Say the word and you'll be back at your desk, but, you're welcome to stay as long as you like.

"Might I ask a favor, though? As you're probably aware, there's a lot of activity over at HQ concerning your sudden disappearance. If you'd say that you're here as a guest and will return ASAP, that may stop a kidnapping charge against me."

He replied, "You've given me a lot to think about, Dragon. I'd like some time to be alone before I go back, and, maybe interview some members of the crew for character reports, if that's all right.

"And, I appreciate your candor. I'll do that little favor for you since you've given your word that I'm here as a guest and may return at my leisure."

"Well, if you want to talk to the crew, that's up to the Captain, Admiral. You'll have to talk to her first, not I. And, thank you for the favor. That makes us even for my past favors your way. Please let me know when you want to return home." He nodded and rose to leave. I escorted him back to the bridge.

"Mr. Tuvok," I said, "Would you escort our guest to his quarters?"

"Certainly," he said, "How long will the admiral be staying?"

"Until he desires to leave," I replied, "All he's got to do is call me via the intercom and he'll be sent home."

"Thank you," he said and escorted the visiting Admiral to the guest quarters.

"Captain," I said, "He'll want to interview members of the crew. He's curious now to see what this crew thinks of us. It might help if we offered cooperation instead of resistance."

I waited until there was another signal from the Federation, which I would have routed to his VIP quarters. It didn't take long for another relay to be established.

A vice-admiral I had never seen appeared on screen.

"Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?" I asked.

"This is Vice-Admiral McHenry, chief of the JAG office. I demand to know what happened to Admiral Paris!"

"He's here, on _Voyager_, as our guest, Vice-Admiral. Also, since I seem to be talking to the jack-ass who is causing us a major headache, I want to go on record as opposed to your heavy-handed activities against this crew," I said.

"Who are you to talk to me like that?!"

"You don't recognize me, do you?" I asked. His silence was my answer, "All right. I am merely known as the Dragon. I have had the flag rank of Admiral since before the original Enterprise was launched in the year 2152. I'm not referring to registry number NCC-1701, but, the first ever United Earth Ship Enterprise. This gives me the right to address you as I see fit!" That last was said with a trace of draconic anger behind it. Easy there. No sense in scaring the man any further than he needs to be. He'll know soon enough that I could crush his career, even from this distance, I thought to myself and allowing myself to calm down a bit.

To his credit, though, he didn't seem fazed by my little display of temper. He did come to attention, though. I waved him to resume his seat.

"No sense in being hostile, Vice-Admiral," I said calmly, "I'm just wondering how else you could screw up your career? It's not a threat, Vice-Admiral.

"However, I do not like what you've done thus far. I see you as a major annoyance and negligent in your duties. You are also reckless and impatient. You are reckless because your actions almost cost us our Captain and First Officer to an illogical suicide attempt...that I take personally and will weigh heavily in any future promotion hearings for you. You are impatient because you could have waited until we returned to Federation Space and escorted us home to face any pending actions. We are not dumb here, Vice-Admiral, we know that some of our more drastic actions may be reviewed when we return and explanations required as to why we shouldn't be up to our eyebrows in courts-martial. I would be within my authority to end this proceeding, but, I will not use that authority or impose my will upon you using the power of the Q. But, I will ask, Admiral to Admiral, that you consider postponing any proceedings against this crew until such time as we are able to fully answer them while within the boundaries of UFP Space. You never know, Vice-Admiral, what may happen. A little leeway until we can return home, on our own, goes a long way in getting that flag rank you're obviously working towards.

"Finally, might I recommend talking to some Vulcans on the necessity of logic and patience?"

The import of what I said slowly sank in: If he allowed the matter to drop for a while, he could get a nice flag rank sometime in the future. If he pressed it, he might find future promotions hard to come by or might no longer get promotions. I basically told him that, yes, we would face the music, but, it was at a time of our choosing, not forced on us by an over-eager vice-admiral...who might not have gotten that high had I still been on Earth. He would have been taken under my "wing" and advancement would have been slower, but, earned nonetheless. It was a fair offer seeing how he must have realized that he'd just hit a "brick wall". I was also telling him that I protect my shipmates from threats and his actions might have cost him one opportunity to advance, but, that would be the extent of my "revenge".

"Let me think about it, sir," he said.

"Take your time, Vice-Admiral. I've got nothing but time. I'll direct you to Admiral Paris' quarters, though. I'm sure that you want to verify that he's in perfect health and not held against his will."

"Thank you," he said. I pressed the buttons and he was transferred over.

Captain Janeway looked over at me and said, "You were a little harsh with him."

"Captain," I replied, "He doesn't realize this yet, but, he's lucky I only gave him a mild dressing-down. You've seen crewmembers on board here that were on the receiving end of blistering dressing-downs. I seem to recall giving you one or two as well."

"Don't remind me, sir," she said, "I'm still waiting for the one for trying to kill myself."

"Answer this, Captain," I replied, "Have you given yourself a lecture/dressing down yet?"

"I have," she replied. I nodded, "Consider yourself dressed down by me, then, Captain. Sometimes, I let a person's conscience do my 'dirty work' for me." I smiled and she breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"Thank you, sir," she said.

"You're welcome, Kathryn," I said, "But, let's not have any more episodes, shall we? There's nothing that an informal chat can't solve."

"Point taken, sir," she said.

"I'll be in my quarters with Gabrielle," I said. She nodded, "Have fun."

I teleported to my quarters, where Q was waiting.

"Most impressive," he said, "But, why didn't you use the powers we gave you to get them off your back?"

"Q," I replied, "I'm not going to use this gift to force people to comply with my wishes when simple talking will work just as well and the person is aware of their decision. I'm also not going to wave my hand and drop this crew home unless each person really desires it of their own free will. I think that the crew have grown to love being here and exploring this quadrant.

"Do you like exploring this universe, Q?"

"When I was a young Q," he said, "I adored exploring and seeing what sights there were to behold and learning new experiences."

"You see my point, then," I said, "I can drop us home in a few seconds, but, that robs the crew, and myself, the ability to see things for the first time. I'm not like you, Q, I'm used to taking things slow. It doesn't mean that at some point, I won't use your gift to explore the furthest reaches of the universe and see a bunch of things that no human can ever achieve to visit.

"But, I need to be able to do things without too much interference. I'm not used to these powers and I need to learn to control them before I really do something I'd regret."

"The Q don't need to have regrets," he said, "We're above that."

"Are you?" I countered, "I don't think that you are above something as basic as emotions. How many times have you displayed anger or disgust, Q? If a member of the Q is above that, why would you have been hurt when Sisko slugged you? How chagrined where you when Picard read you off several times? Did you even listen or were you too angry at a lowly mortal for being right?"

"That's a low blow," he complained, "Sisko hit me right where it hurts, and Jean-Luc came close several times to being turned into a German Shepherd."

"Like you did with Dr. Crusher, huh?" I said with a smile, remembering the logs filed, "You've proven my point for me, Q. If a Q cannot be physically hurt, that leaves only pride to be hurt. You didn't really expect Sisko to deck you with one punch. You were too cocky and arrogant, and that cost you. You lost face with the other Q, that much I do know."

Q had the decency to blush a little bit. "I hate it when mortals are right," he groused.

"But, I've never been mortal, Q," I pointed out, "Therefore, in at least that respect, I was an equal. Before you object, though, I'm not comparing myself to the Q. I know that even my life has been nothing more than a blink of an eye to you, not even that compared to the existence of my homeworld. I certainly don't plan on being a true equal for a long time."

He laughed, "Again, you've got a good point. I must be going, though, Q is waiting for his tour of the Beta Quadrant and he's like his mother sometimes."

A bolt of lightning struck Q in the rear-end and he yelped in pain before disappearing.

I heard a laugh from the living quarters. Seven had witnessed the whole exchange and found his departure amusing. So did I, actually.

"Hi, Seven," I said with a grin and walking over to her for a hug and kiss, "You're off-duty early. Is something wrong?"

"No," she said, "I finished my duties early and came down here to see how you are adapting."

"Well, I haven't turned _Voyager_ into anything yet, so, I guess that means I'm adapting pretty well."

"That's good," she said, "Everyone's talking about Admiral Paris being here for a visit and that you brought him here. Was that really relevant?"

"At the time, yes, it was highly relevant. It still is as he's got a lot of say with what happens to Janeway. That vice-admiral I talked to seems to be a bit high-strung and over eager to prove himself. Sometimes, Seven, I do wish that the Borg would assimilate some pains in the neck I've known."

"If they are that bad," she said, "They might be unworthy of assimilation. The Collective actually rejected several would-be assimilation victims recently."

She proceeded to fill me in on some convicted murderers that were scheduled for forced assimilation, but, the Borg decided that they couldn't be assimilated without causing some harm to their view of perfection. Seven told me that there were a few instances when a person's individuality would threaten the Collective as a whole and they learned to avoid such encounters after having to terminate several drones who caused disorder among the Borg's idea of order. But, then, I've seen how that order comes in handy.

Seven was a prime example of that since she leans on that imposed sense of order daily. When stripped of the Borg association, even I could see it was useful to Seven and the other ex-drones we've encountered. It does have drawbacks, especially when the children were still here. It took Chakotay and I to convince Seven to loosen up on the order. She still likes being orderly, but, isn't imposing that as strongly on Gabrielle. But, I had a feeling that Gabrielle would learn the Borg way on her own and copy it for herself.

Over the years, I had found that the Borg, while still evil, could be learned from and their ways could benefit mankind without being assimilated. Seven would be an excellent instructor once we got back home. I fully intended to recommend her for a teaching position once we got back.

We sat and talked for at least an hour before Gabrielle woke up from her afternoon nap. Of course, she had filled her diaper, but, I figured that it was a good time to practice a little bit with my new powers. I snapped my fingers and a moment later, she had on...a clown suit.

"Ooops!" I said and tried again, focusing on the task more. Gabrielle returned to her normal clothing and a new diaper.

"Be glad that she didn't mind," Seven said, "I would have been very upset if that had happened to me."

I turned around and felt a major blush forming. "Then, dear," I said, "Don't look in the mirror right now."

"You didn't?!" she said, looking down on herself. Poor Seven, my attempt had literally stripped her clean. I hadn't seen Seven naked until then, thus the cause of my intense embarrassment. I snapped my fingers and a moment later, her cat-suit/uniform was back on.

"I am really sorry, Seven," I said.

She didn't look angry, though, "At least you didn't try to throw me through a bulkhead again." She smiled and I breathed easier. She was most understanding unless someone threw her a major curve ball and then, she had a fiery temper. Giving her alcoholic drinks was also not advisable. Her Borg technology cannot cope with the alcohol, and her Borg order tends to go out the window then, leaving a very hungover Annika in it's place. It normally wasn't fun dealing with Seven as she sobered up. She tended to be more hostile, even with that inhibitor in place. But, I had an idea that alcohol and that now deactivated inhibitor weren't exactly compatible.

But, Seven was forgiving most of the time, and this was one of those times. I had never realized it until that near fatal accident in my quarters, but, looking at things, I realized that I had fallen for Seven well before then. Her imposed, yet maintained, Borg personality and intelligence suit her just fine and is a counter-part to my own. While I keep a cool head in a crisis situation most of the time, I rarely saw instances when she would lash out, but, when she did, the person usually deserved it and she wasn't afraid to let the person know that they deserved a chewing, even if that person was Kathryn Janeway or myself.

Janeway, however, doesn't tolerate it from anyone, not even Seven. She'll listen for a few moments, then, cut the person off. I don't even chew her out that often. It's more of a courtesy thing with me since I technically outrank her. I've only had to chew her out for-real three times in the last eight years, and, when I do, I'm wearing my admiral's bars, not commander's pips. Any other times, and I've sat her down and discussed the situation informally and off-the-record. She really deserved a chewing for the suicide attempt, but, to be honest, I couldn't bring myself to do that. That's why I had told her that her conscience would be enough of a chewing. She's harder on herself than most crewmembers realize.

I still recalled that dark region of space and our encounter with the "Dark Aliens" and the Malon. It was funny seeing Paris refuse an order, then, Harry's refusal, then Seven's blunt "I will not comply." Janeway looked at me and I told her, "Don't look at me, Captain. I'm not complying either, and you can't court-martial me."

But, Janeway did get even with me eventually, but, I didn't hold a grudge. She sent me on an interesting mission to a Class Y planet, to help gather fuel for the ship. Besides, I was the only one on board that didn't exactly need an E-Suit, but, I use them on the Demon Class planets as they would overtax my abilities to the point that I might collapse. I only would go down if there was an emergency. But, now with the Q derived powers, that was no longer a concern and I could, if I wanted, make the fuel we have last forever.

Then, I realized that I could cheat a little bit and make it so that we never had to stop for fuel and I could stock the galley with a lot of fresh fruits and veggies from the Alpha Quadrant. Neelix would get more leeola roots for his personal usage since he liked them more than the rest of the crew would ever like them. I'd talk to the senior staff first, though, and see what they felt.

I did, however, get some fresh coffee and a coffeemaker for Janeway, since her birthday was coming up in a few days, with the best water that a Q could provide. Those were deposited in her quarters, and, sure enough, when her shift ended and I was on the way to the bridge for my stint in the chair, my comm-badge chirped.

"Janeway to Dragon, did you get me this coffee?"

"Yes, Ma'am, I did. It's an early present. Those are, hopefully, the best coffee beans Earth has to offer."

"I'll try them out first thing in the morning. Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome, Captain. Dragon out."

Of course, by then, we were moving again, the Borg vessels had moved on to other things that they needed to do, like more assimilation, probably. We were still on course for the fuel stop and a few hours away from it, which would certainly make it part of my shift and probably into the next one. We also had that "wetting down" party for Harry during this time.

I entered the bridge and sat down in the chair.

"Good evening, sir," Tom's relief said.

"Good evening, Ensign Hudson. How are you doing tonight?" I asked.

"Just fine, sir," she said, "I've got an interesting request for you, sir."

"Let me guess. You're interested in going to Mr. Kim's little party, correct?"

"Yes, sir. In fact, the entire bridge shift wants to go, sir," she said.

"How long until we reach our 'fuel stop'?" I asked.

"At current speed, we should arrive at 2230 hours."

"Excellent!" I said, "Slow to Warp 3 and report new time of arrival."

"Our new arrival time is 0217 tomorrow, sir," she replied.

"Set helm to auto navigation mode. Set all other bridge controls to stand-by mode. We're going to a party, folks," I said with a grin. I was looking forward to this party as well. Neelix had told me that he felt the crew needed a morale boosting party and Harry's promotion was a good enough reason if he ever heard of one.

The bridge crew filed out, leaving me alone for a bit. "Computer," I said, "Monitor all ship's functions and sensors. Alert me to any situations that require crew interaction until 2300 hours."

"Acknowledged," the computer said. I left the bridge and headed for the mess hall when Q re-appeared beside me.

"I thought you had to take the kid to see the Beta Quadrant, Q," I said with a grin, "You might as well join us since you're here, but, please, no pranks on the crew. This is a morale boost for them and is sorely needed. I know that I need it as well."

"Since you asked," he replied, "I will join you and 'keep my nose clean'. Q enjoyed his tour, though. He's learning a lot, actually, but, I'm worried about him. The rest of the Q are not sure that he knows all there is to being one of us. He's the first child that we've had, ever, and, sometimes, I am at a loss on how to be a parent."

"Do you discipline him in the ways of the Q?" I prodded, even more curious.

"We've tried," he replied, "Nothing's working well." I raised an eyebrow at that one.

"You're welcome to go through our library computer for information on child-rearing, Q, if you feel a need to gain knowledge," I said, "Also, Q, you cannot be afraid of punishing your child when he does wrong. Place boundaries for him and tell him that if he goes beyond those reasonable boundaries, he will be punished in a suitable manner.

"Like, let's say that he's playing around with some planets that he shouldn't be playing with. What would you do? Or, here's something else. Let's say that he destroys an entire civilization like humanity? What would happen, Q?"

He had to think about it. "Q," I said, "If you have to think about it, the damage will have been done. There are many space-faring people out here and the sudden loss of one for unknown reasons might destabilize a region of space and have long lasting problems. What I would do is quite simple if he broke the rules. He would have to live as one of his victims, and without his powers, for a while. Maybe it might be for a long while, maybe living out a 'natural life' as one of his victims and only being reprieved near what would have been his death. To a Q, that's not very long, but, to a mortal, it's painful at the least and worth the lessons taught.

"Does he know that with the power of a Q, that he has some awesome responsibilities to live up to? Did you teach him what they are? How about taking him on a 'Father-Son working trip' to see how a Q deals with the responsibilities imposed upon him?"

He thought for a moment, "You're right, Dragon Q! When I became a father, that gave me a new outlook on being a Q. I've tried to become more responsible since then. I learned a lot during our civil war, and I haven't forgotten it."

"Q," I replied, "Is your son old enough to fully understand why he was born? Why Captain Janeway is his 'godmother'? I am willing to take the time to teach him, certainly, but, only after the trouble with Starfleet has been settled."

"No need to worry about that," he said, "I stopped in and saw that your words moved that Vice-Admiral like you'd hoped. He's recommending to your Federation President that all the charges be dropped, without prejudice. I think that things will settle down for you."

I wheeled to face Q, "You didn't interfere, did you, Q?"

"Certainly not!" he protested, "He never knew that I was there. I wanted to see why some people feared you despite yourself at times. He seemed somewhat eager to let the matter drop, muttering that he didn't want his career stalled out so soon."

I relaxed visibly, knowing that he told the truth. I was surprised that the man was afraid of my "long reach", but, I wondered why he didn't know that I was also trapped here. Maybe, he thought that he could take that chance anyway.

"All right, Q," I said, "I'll take that responsibility on one condition...that you do things my way and not interfere. Tell your son to report here at 1400 for lessons in 'With great power, there must be great responsibility 101', and that I'm a harsh instructor and not hesitant about meting out fitting punishments for misbehaving. If he gets turned into a slug for a while and without his powers, that's his choice. Agreed?"

"Of course!" he said with a grin, "The Q would be in your debt if you can succeed."

"You can repay that debt by having other members of the Q stop in for a refresher course at their leisure. You will be first, right?" That last was said with a wink, though.

It had the desired effect of making a Q blush with embarrassment...or was it chagrin.

"Fine," he said, "1400 it is."

"Well, I'm off to a party, Q," I said, "You're welcome to attend as long as you don't pull off any of your annoying pranks like turning Seven into something that she'd probably get rather upset about."

"You care for 'Borgy Girl', don't you?" he said. That was a mistake. I wheeled on him and slammed him into the wall. He slid down with a grunt.

"Lesson one, Q," I said, "Don't mess with me when it comes to Seven of Nine. The powers of Q only enhanced my natural abilities, and, I'd hate to have to really teach you a painful lesson."

But, even as I said it, I reached down to give him a hand up. Yes, I was offended by the statement, but, also willing to let it slide after I said my peace. Little did I know that that slam had moved the ship a bit, the computer adjusting course almost immediately, though.

"You pack a wallop!" Q said.

"Of course, Q." I said, "and to answer your question...Yes, I do care for Seven of Nine, very much, as well as the baby. I'm very protective of them as well as this ship. With the Borg Collective available as friends, this ship really can't be beat. We've got an excellent tactical advantage, I do believe."

"We are aware of your arrangement with the Collective," Q said, "We've allowed it to progress as we feel that humanity would benefit from your brokered deal. We do not see it ending anytime within the next few hundred years, at least. Your friends in the Federation are happy with the arrangement since it brings stability to your quadrant. The Collective is happy since they are able to assimilate what they need to better their perfection and give enhancements to the Federation, who, is sharing the fruits of their bounty with the Klingons and Romulans."

"Excellent news, Q!" I said, "I'm surprised that the Federation is willing to share technology with the Klingons and Romulans. It benefits all the cultures nicely."

"The Q are pleased, to say the least," he replied as we reached the holodeck, "We never thought that a peace treaty between the humans and Borg would bring such peace to a whole quadrant. While there are still the various Neutral Zones, even those have started to come down with limited conveys able to pass through without incident."

We entered the room and most of the senior staff was already there. I saw Seven and Gabrielle with the Captain, so I headed that way. Admiral Paris was also there, but, he looked nervous. I had an idea why, though. Tom and Owen were quite estranged, even now, but, I hoped that Harry's little party would break the ice between father and son before Owen requested to be sent back. It might be a while before they saw each other and I crossed my fingers that they would at least talk.

Meanwhile, Q was merely taking in the scene, behaving himself, actually.

I was somewhat surprised at that, though. But, I also knew that he'd probably liven the party up a bit.

Janeway looked over and saw Q standing there and an icy glare came our way before she physically walked over.

"What are you doing here, Q?" she demanded. He replied, "Is that any way to treat an invited guest?" She raised an eyebrow at that bit of news and looked my way.

"I invited him, Captain," I said, "He's promised to behave himself and, so far, he's honored that word. Besides, he's already had a taste of that could happen if he messes with certain members of the crew."

"Is that the thud we felt a few minutes ago?" she asked.

Q nodded, "I'm afraid so, Kathy. Seems your superior officer is a bit touchy when it comes to Seven of Nine and that infant of his."

"Serves you right, then, Q," she said icily, "We were all basically told to protect Gabrielle, but, then, she's a member of my crew and I'm just as protective of the crew as he is. But, I didn't know about Seven being just as protected."

"He touched a nerve, that's all, Captain," I said, "After that little incident in my quarters a few weeks back, I've been a tad over protective. It's one of my 'character flaws', I guess. I've always been that way with people I care about. That's why I'm so protective of this entire crew, not just Seven and Gabrielle.

"By the way, Q. Please remember to call the captain by either her rank, or Kathryn, if she permits it. She's not fond of 'Kathy'."

"It's all right, sir," she said, "I can tolerate it from Q." She was resigned to Q being there at the party and as long as he kept his cool, things would be fine, I thought. He didn't have much of a choice, though. If he stepped out of line, he'd find himself tossed out the nearest airlock and a Q-proof deflector in place. I'd let his son in, out of respect for the Captain and my agreement with the lad's father. It was still odd thinking of Q as a father, though, and would take some getting used to. I couldn't complain, though. I was beginning to enjoy the new powers, more than when I had similar powers several thousand years ago.

Admiral Paris and Tom were talking more and I knew in my heart that they were beginning to mend their fences a bit. Janeway and Chakotay were also chatting and enjoying themselves with the Fair Haven residents. The EMH was playing his minister's role fairly well as he mingled and gave words of spiritual advice to those who wanted some. He looked like he had heard a few confessions as well and had taken to being the ship's "father confessor" as well. Unlike the actual residents of Fair Haven, the Doctor rarely issued a penance for an actual crewmember's sins.

Neelix was making his rounds of the crew and residents with whatever he could come up with for chatting. He had buttonholed Tuvok, as usual. Tuvok, for his part, played the perfect foil for Neelix's jokes at times. Seven and Icheb were talking with Naomi as they waited for the dinner to be served.

Q was also taking the time to study how we relaxed and boosted our sagging morale. He appeared to be keenly interested for a change. He got a look on his face for a moment and snapped his fingers. Then, he looked pleased again. I raised an eyebrow at that.

I walked over to him and asked, "What was that for?" He replied, "Unwelcome visitors were getting too close for comfort. I cloaked _Voyager_ and they should pass us without seeing us. This 'party' is most interesting, I think."

I tapped my comm-badge and said, "Computer, run short range scan and report."

A moment later, "There are five ships of unknown design 15 light years away and approaching at warp 3. They are not scanning for anything. They will pass in 30 minutes."

"Slow to Warp one until they have passed, then, resume original course and speed," I ordered. The ship slowed down to the new speed and Janeway came over.

"Report," she said.

"Nothing to worry about, Captain," I said, "There are some unknown ships heading our way. Q believes that they might be hostile and cloaked the ship. I ordered a temporary slow-down, just in case. The computer said that they should pass us shortly without detecting us at all."

She glared at Q for a moment, then, she shrugged her shoulders and went on her way. She would have been more hostile if I hadn't been around to explain, I think. Given Q's track record with Sisko and Picard, Janeway had enough reason to raise an eyebrow, but, since he started visiting us, he had changed enough that I doubted that any real harm could come to us. The Borg were bad enough when they were in a hostile mood, but, I'd hate to see an entire race getting on the bad side of a Q. It would make assimilation look like a walk in the park, I suspect.

There were no other threats to the ship and, sure enough, about 30 minutes later, the ship automatically resumed it's speed. Q kept us cloaked for a while longer until I told him that the threat was long gone.

Meanwhile, Admiral Paris and Tom were still talking. That in itself, was a good sign. I was tempted to eavesdrop on the chat, but, I figured that it wasn't really worth the hassle if either found out. It was hard, though, given my new abilities.

I noticed that B'Elanna had brought Miral to the party. As the newest baby aboard _Voyager_, she was getting doted on by a lot of people and would be for a few weeks or until B'Elanna got tired of it. I had yet to see her because my duties aboard the ship had, sadly, gotten in the way. I planned on fixing that problem, though. I owed them a lot of babysitting seeing how either one of them was willing to give me a hand with my own toddler, it was only fair that I return the favors when I could.

I headed over to see the child as Q made his rounds, even entertaining some of the guests with a few minor tricks.

"Hello, sir," she said, "How are you tonight?"

"I'm fine, B'Elanna," I replied, "Also, I'm not exactly 'on-duty' right now, so, I think we can drop the protocol a little bit. How's Miral?"

"She's doing well, Admiral," she said, "She caught a bug a week or so ago, but, the EMH was able to prescribe a cure. Would you like to hold her for a bit?"

"I'd be honored, B'Elanna," I said. She held the baby to me and I took her for a moment. Miral didn't seem to mind the change and looked up at me. I couldn't help but give her a smile.

"She's adorable," I said, "If you need a babysitter, just give me a call. I owe you and Tom quite a few favors for you babysitting for me on short notice."

"We'll remember that, Admiral," she said, "Looks like a friend of yours is heading over." I turned to see Seven of Nine approaching us.

"Good evening," she said to us.

"Hi, Seven," I replied. B'Elanna also greeted Seven as she looked down on Miral and ever so gently traced her human hand over Miral's muted facial ridges. Miral seemed to enjoy the contact and gurgled her happiness.

B'Elanna said, "It's amazing, Admiral."

"What's that?" I asked, curious.

"We've all seen how powerful you really are, even in human form, yet, you hold a newborn with the gentleness of any of us."

"That's because I do have a weak spot for babies, B'Elanna. Yes, I can tear apart a Borg Cube from the inside and not really break a sweat, but, my true strength lies in being gentle when it's needed. As you probably read in my files, I've mentored and raised a lot of children, mainly human obviously and each one knew that they were loved and protected. Even Miral knows by instinct that she's as safe with me as she is with you or Tom. Babies, regardless of species, know when someone intends to do them harm."

Seven said, "When I was a drone, I helped assimilate thousands of children. Yet, this one doesn't flinch anymore than Gabrielle would have."

"You've changed, Seven," I replied, "In the years that you've been with us, you've gone from a scared drone demanding to be returned to the hive to someone that I do love because of her humanity and even caring for the people on board. Your days as a fearsome drone have certainly ended. We all have finally accepted you as a member of the crew and our family. I guess you've been assimilated, dear." The final part was said with a smile. Seven smiled at the joke a bit.

B'Elanna's jaw dropped a centimeter seeing that. "I never thought I'd see you smiling, Seven," she said, "I like it!"

I nodded, "So do I. I see you've been working more on your sense of humor. It suits you, I think."

"Thank you," she said, "May I hold the child?" B'Elanna nodded, so I handed Miral off to Seven. She was in a really good mood and tried to reach up to grab Seven's cranial implant access. Needless to say, little Miral didn't have enough hand-eye coordination to achieve that task. Seven's expression softened, as it usually did holding Gabrielle. Then, I knew that she would be an excellent mother someday. Seven was usually so serious most of the time that no one really knew what her emotions were really like. When she was holding a small child, though, her mask dropped and we could all see her emotions. I figured it was the lingering traces of her original personality trying to assert itself despite the Doctor's assurance that Annika was no longer actually there or at least so deeply buried by the Borg personality and order that a young girl's personality just cannot escape. I was hoping for the latter, though.

Tom and Admiral Paris came over just then and even the Admiral's usually staunch face softened on seeing his grand-daughter for the first time. Seven handed Miral to the Admiral without even being asked.

"Dad," Tom said, "I'd like you to meet Miral Paris, your grand-daughter." The scene was touching and, on an impulse, I snapped my fingers and got a holo-camera.

"Admiral," I said, "I cannot send you back home without a picture to 'hang on your wall'. If you, Tom and B'Elanna would get together, I'd love to take the picture."

"Only if you're in it as well," Tom said, "As Miral's godfather, you should be in the picture as well." I was shocked to find that out.

Seven said, "Dragon, you can pick up your jaw. It would not look dignified to see you with a gaping jaw, would it?" I closed my mouth and handed the camera over to Seven.

"Uh, sir," B'Elanna said, "We'd like Seven to be in the picture as well. Tom and I would be honored if she'd be Miral's godmother." It was Seven's turn to drop a jaw.

I spotted the EMH nearby and called him over, "Doc, would you mind taking a picture for us?"

"I'd be delighted," he said, taking the camera. We all gathered around and a few seconds later, the Doctor had taken the picture. He snapped a few extra shots as well before I said, "You might as well join in the pictures."

That started a whole round of picture taking with various members of the crew. I even talked Q into taking a few shots before getting him to smile for the camera. He had been behaving himself the whole time, which was a minor surprise, and I thought he'd like to take some pictures back home.

After I had gathered enough pictures, I made extra copies for people who wanted some. Admiral Paris got enough spread around his family and to give some to B'Elanna's father. He had confirmed that her mother had died in an accident several months ago, setting the galactic record for ESP. Admiral Paris said that he had informally talked to the senior staff and other members of the crew and said that he was impressed with what he had found. He was also puzzled as to why Vice-Admiral McHenry had decided on such an action in the first place, seeing how we had managed to protect the Federation even from the Delta Quadrant.

He was even surprised to see a member of the Q on board the ship and the same one that had caused Picard so many problems was having a good time without causing any trouble. I gave Admiral Paris copies of the pictures of Q so that he could give them to Captain Picard, with my compliments.

I looked at the chronometer and saw that my time at the party was drawing to a close as was the current bridge crew's turn and they started filtering up to the bridge.

Admiral Paris was sent back home as well, having gathered the information he needed and then beginning to mend things with Tom. I had a good feeling about what I had seen, especially when he held Miral for the first time. He also wished Seven and I luck, which caused Q's eyes to roll a little before I stared him down real quick. He was in no mood, I guess, to taste another not-so-friendly tap. But, then, I figured that he was not having a very good day until he popped in for the party.

Q left as well, after I reminded him of his scheduled appointment with me the next day along with his son. I figured that I had my work cut out for me given the situation with the Q. With some luck, I could teach the youngest Q to use his powers in a responsible manner. It wouldn't be easy with teaching a being who could wipe out entire solar systems with a "sneeze".

Back on the bridge, moral was pretty high, compared to the previous few days. There was a general sense of relief, actually, as the feeling was that the trouble concerning the captain was being resolved. We'd know in a couple of days, at most. The next scheduled datastream and Borg relay were two days away.

We also were only an hour or so away from the fuel stop, so I gathered an away team to brief them on the procedures that we were going to use. I had to ask Tom and Harry to come along, seeing how they had previous experience on a Demon Class world. Seven was going along as well and, during the briefing, she lectured briefly on the need for efficiency as well as speed. That raised an eyebrow with me on the speed issue. Seven is normally calculating in her movements and not one to rush things.

However, she said that the planet we were stopping at had a higher than normal temperature and radiation levels. The Borg had scanned it recently and relayed the information to Seven. That explained her change in demeanor.

I reminded them that if anything happened to their suits or something else goes wrong, that I was to be called immediately, no matter how unimportant it seemed, even if it was a stubbed toe. With the high temperatures and higher radiation, the total amount of time on the surface for a mortal was cut down drastically. We'd have just enough time to gather samples for processing before having to leave. I could stay, of course, given my special nature. That would make it easy to transport the fuel and crystals up to the ship, anyway.

That also meant that I could go down without a suit at all. As a new member of the Q, I supposed that I didn't need air anymore and that the radiation wouldn't matter. My communicator was still needed, however, that would probably adapt on it's own to the harsh environment. I'd have to test it to be safe, I supposed. I knew that since I'd gotten it, that it definitely adapted to my original nature every time I had to use it on an away mission where my Dragon form was required. I had to actually adapt a little bit since it's way of adapting was by shape shifting as well. It "read" my nervous system and picked up the shape change commands and formed another scale on top of one that normally forms. It even adapted to smaller or different forms as well and I had begun to think of it as a natural extension of my own body. It still needed to be activated manually like a standard communicator, but, as some species found out, I have merely have to tap out a special sequence to call for a Borg sphere or cube, whichever was needed.

Except for that one captain I wrote about at the beginning of this part of my story, most other hostile races would stand down when informed that the Borg could be contacted as reinforcements. Sometimes, they needed convincing, but, as soon as they saw the Borg ship dropping out of warp or transwarp, they surrendered. Of course, I got the Borg to leave them alone. Sometimes, it was hard to get the Collective to depart, though. They tended to be stubborn when it came to assimilation. Fortunately, though, sometimes their scans showed that the hostile force, while a threat to us, was not worthy of assimilation, just yet. When that happened, the Borg would simply leave while I told their forces that they got really lucky in that the Borg considered their technology to be unworthy of assimilation and politely, but, firmly told them to beat a warp path for their home before the Collective changed their minds. Then, it worked and we were left alone or grudgingly given permission to cross their space. Of course, we hurried through those areas, complying with their instructions fully. There was little sense in provoking them any more than we really had to.

More often than not, though, we were unmolested. I suspected that our reputation was preceding us into some sectors because Seven had been surprised on several occasions when she was certain that the resident species would take offense or at least object to our passage. Some had offered an objection, but, when informed who we were, they sometimes backed down, but, some didn't. Of course, if we could go around their territory, we preferred to do that instead of a conflict. Other times, we had to talk our way through their space anyway. Others took offense to our "bodyguards", but, that couldn't be helped. We also bent over backwards to prove that we were not gathering information solely to help the Collective with their assimilation schedule. I had given orders that no en route scans be transmitted to the Collective anyway.

While I felt no guilt about calling the Borg for backup when needed, I was not about to permit anyone from the crew to actively assist the Borg in assimilating innocent species. It was a fine line, obviously, as sometimes our calling for assistance did lead to entire civilizations being assimilated at a later date. That sometimes bothered me, but, Seven was kind enough to explain that it was probable that those worlds were targets for assimilation anyway given the nature of their technology. Personally, I felt that offering technology to the Collective from the Federation was more or less "protection money", but, that as long as the Collective was happy and also sharing their booty with the Federation, it balanced out nicely. Therefore, my conscience did not bother me.

As I was thinking, it got to be time to go down to the surface. I walked over to the Delta Flyer and got in. Tom, Harry, Seven and the rest of the landing party were already there.

"Sorry I'm late, folks," I said, "I assume that everyone is prepared for the trip?"

"We're ready, sir," Tom said, "Opening the landing bay doors now."

I nodded, "OK, let's go. Permission to take off is granted." Tom expertly moved the Flyer out of the shuttle bay and we headed for the planet. Even from orbit, we could see just how hostile it was. It certainly wasn't a vacation spot.

As we entered the upper atmosphere, the ride got bumpy and I knew that the landing was going to be tricky, at best, but, we had the best pilot on board taking us in. The ride got really rough as we approached 35,000 feet and Tom said, "Man, this is getting nasty. Scanners are showing that we're heading into a thunderstorm that makes the ones back home look like spring showers. It would be difficult to move around as well."

"Can you take us through it, Tom?" I asked above the buffeting.

"We don't have much choice, sir," he replied, "It's part of an entire cluster 300 kilometers wide. That was the cloud layer that we were seeing. The rain appears to be a sulfuric acid. The adaptive shields should be able to compensate, though."

We had taken the time to copy the Borg's enhancements to the shuttles and Delta Flyer, so, I was breathing a little easier on that score, but, if the rain lasted too long, the shields would begin to weaken, just the same. It certainly prevented anyone from leaving the Flyer unless I tried my Q powers to remove the threat. That, I was not willing to do, mainly because, there were going to be away missions that I was not a part of and I felt that the crew did not need me changing the environment to suit them unless there would be a need to.

Tom was able to flare the Flyer for a fair landing on the surface a few minutes later as the lightning flashed around us and the heavy rains fell. We could see the drops flowing off the shields as well.

"Shields holding at 97%, sir," Harry said. I nodded, "OK, they will firm up on their own, they need to adapt to the constant impacts as well as the temperature and radiation."

Harry replied, "I think they already have. Shields are at 99% now and holding."

"Excellent!" I said, "How long before we must make a decision on waiting out the storm or trying to head back to the ship?"

"If the shields hold, we can stay for up to six hours," the EMH said. I had asked him to come along, as a precaution. His emitter was able to withstand the higher temps and radiation without any changes to it. I was beginning to suspect that the alliance was still going strong when Captain Braxton would be born, so the future enhancements would already be included in the current emitter.

Fortunately, though, the acid rain stopped about two hours later and we were able to leave the Flyer to gather our samples. As we suspected, though, normal communication with _Voyager_ had been terminated due to the conditions. Even my communicator had a difficult time maintaining a connection, but, it was the best we could do, though. At least we could talk to the ship.

Q appeared again and said, "Phew! What an atmosphere for a new Q to be in."

"I know what you're going to say, Q," I replied, "No offense, but, I am sort of busy right now. Gathering these samples of possible fuel is very important and I need to be able to listen for signs of trouble. As you can see, this is an extremely hostile world for us to be in and, Q or not, I can't afford to be distracted.

"Yes, I could make this an easy assignment with a snap of my fingers. But, I refuse to do that. As you know, not every planet is Earthlike and livable. The crew needs to maintain their training for hostile worlds as well as friendly ones. I'm not weakening that training by altering the environment one bit."

"That takes the fun out of it, though," he replied.

I turned to face him and gave him a hard stare. In humans and other species, that usually gets them to back down some. Obviously, it had no effect on Q, though.

"Here's your first lesson in 'Power and Responsibility 101', Q. One does not misuse their powers to create artificial conditions that make lives better for others. It is an abuse of those powers, to be honest. I will not do that. Please depart so I can focus on this mission...or maybe you'd like spending time in the brig of _Voyager_ until I decide to release you?"

"You wouldn't?!" he said in shock.

"If you're not gone in 5 seconds, I most certainly would. If you had done some 'homework', on me, Q, you know that I do not bluff. It's your choice, Q. Think fast."

For about 4 seconds, I thought he was going to call me, but, he disappeared as I was raising my hand to snap my fingers. He'd be pissed off when we met again, but, he needed to know that I do not tolerate unnecessary or irrelevant distractions on a dangerous away mission. If he couldn't understand that, he'd have a major problem.

The rest of the mission went fairly smooth, but, as I suspected, one of the crewmen tripped on a rock and went down. When I heard the call for help, I was there in a flash...literally.

There was a rip in his suit and the computer was saying that he was about to go into oxygen depravation and that the temperature was climbing steadily.

"Relax, Crewman," I said, "I'll take you back to the Flyer." I picked him up easily and teleported, Q-style, to the Flyer.

The EMH, which had stayed behind, ran his medical tricorder over the crewman and said, "He's got third degree burns over 5% of his body and inhaled some of the fumes, causing major lung damage. We need to get him back to the ship quickly if I am to treat his injuries."

"No problem, Doctor," I said, "Can he tolerate a normal teleport, or should I use the Q method?"

"He's already had too much oxygen depravation, your normal teleport would take at least 5 seconds to get us to sickbay. The Q method would get us there in an instant, correct?"

I nodded and pictured sickbay in my memory and snapped my fingers. A quick second later, we were in the sickbay.

"Good work," the EMH said, getting down to business, "I can handle it from here, so you can go back down if you want."

I squeezed the injured man's hand, "You're in good hands, son. Things will turn out just fine. I'll stop by to see you in a couple of hours."

"Thank you, sir," he wheezed.

"Don't talk, crewman," the doctor snapped. "My fault, Doctor," I said.

I teleported back to the surface in my normal fashion. It certainly felt different, though, compared to the method used by a Q.

By then, the rest of the away team had collected their samples and were loading them into the Flyer.

Paris asked, "How's the crewman?"

"He's going to recover," I said, "The Doctor is treating his injuries as we speak." Paris nodded and sighed, "That's good news indeed."

Within a few minutes, the samples were loaded and it looked like it wasn't a moment too soon. The clouds that had held off were starting to close in and I could see what looked like rain falling.

"Let's get going, Tom," I ordered, "It looks like a heavy rain is coming and I do not want us getting caught, shields or not."

"Understood," he said, "Hang on, folks. This might be bumpy for the first few kilometers."

The winds had certainly started to pick up as Tom lifted off. Lightning started to flash around the Flyer and the shields were hit several times, but, adapted quickly. After that, the lightning was actually channeled around the Flyer. The acidic rain was also flowing off the shields, causing a constant, but, minor drain.

But, it only took a few minutes to climb above the storms and reach the upper atmosphere. I tapped my communicator.

"Dragon to _Voyager_," I said. Nothing but raspy static for a moment, then, the adaptive nature of my communicator kicked in and the static cleared up considerably.

"Can you read me now?" I asked.

"We are barely receiving you, sir," Janeway said through the static, which was clearing as we pulled away from the planet and the communicator adapted.

"We are en route to the shuttle bay," I said, "ETA is five minutes."

"Understood," Janeway replied, "We'll be waiting for you. Janeway out."

By then, we could make out the ship, even though it was still extremely small. That would soon be fixed, though. Or so I thought.

There was a loud clang from the outside of the ship followed by a sudden lurch downward.

"We've struck something, sir," Paris said in a strained voice, "Warp drive and impulse drives are offline, we have thrusters, but, we're caught in the gravity well of the planet. We'll reenter the atmosphere in 2 minutes. Shields are also offline and at our present angle, we'll burn up."

I nodded and hit the communicator again.

"Dragon to _Voyager_. Mayday! We've been hit by a meteor or something and have lost warp and impulse drives. We have less than two minutes until atmospheric re-entry and burn up."

"We cannot reach you in time, Sir, and the tractor beam as well as transporters can't get a lock. You should teleport out while you can."

I nodded and snapped my fingers. We appeared smack dab in the shuttle bay where we belonged.

"OK," I said, "We're back."

Torres and the other engineers were waiting to off-load the supplies, but, gave Tom a look as she surveyed the damage.

"Warning!" the ship's computer said, "Sensors indicate a plasma leak in the Delta Flyer. One minute until warp core breach!" Damn! I thought. I walked over to the damaged part and waved my hand over it.

"Warp core breach averted!" the computer stated.

Q appeared, "Nice recovery." I glared at him and the crew basically left in a hurry.

"If you had anything to do with that, Q, you will not like my reaction," I said.

He held up a white flag and waved it. "You got me wrong," he protested, "I had nothing to do with that! I'll admit that I was watching, but, I did nothing else."

"You willing to take an oath on that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He raised his right hand and a Bible appeared out of thin air. I held up my hand.

"OK," I said, "I'll take your word for it. If you're willing to swear on a Bible, that's good enough for me." The Bible disappeared and Q relaxed.

"Sorry about that," I said, "I'm just a little on edge."

He shrugged, "Apology accepted. I can see that you're struggling between the way you did things and how a Q would handle it. I know that you used our teleportation to move that injured crewman and that walking database to the ship, but, let the database treat the injuries while you returned to the surface your old way."

"Well," I replied, "His injuries were life threatening and required the sickbay to treat. I will use the Q powers to move injured crewmen or to save lives, but, if the injuries are treatable, the Doctor can handle them. I only step in once the Doctor thinks that my healing touch would stabilize the patient. I am going to continue that practice.

"In case you're wondering why I'm not chewing you for calling the EMH a walking database is because he still considers himself to be one at times and he takes no offense to it."

"You could make him human, you know," Q said.

I nodded, "That is something I realized already, Q. But, while he could be made flesh and blood, he might lose all the knowledge he's gained. We'd also have to install another EMH anyway in case the Doctor was injured or killed. Heck, we can't even back up the Doctor as it is. His matrix is just too large now.

"That's also why I haven't offered to remove Seven's implants. Well, she'd lose what makes her so unique and invaluable to us. Her nanoprobes, for example, have come in handy many times. Her Borg database has loads of information that we need."

"You are certainly different than the rest of us," Q said before disappearing.

The away team had wandered back in as well to finish their task, seeing how the situation has defused itself. I could clean the decks with Q, but, I didn't feel like getting into a fight that would leave the ship in a shambles and me getting a royal chewing from Janeway, Admiral or not.

"Good news," B'Elanna said, "The samples you brought back are high grade and totally pure. With the enhancements to the drive and the added fuel efficiency, we can actually get almost all the way through the Beta Quadrant before having to replace the crystals. Maybe, if enough are brought back, we wouldn't have to worry about that until we got home!"

I nodded, "How much is required to get us home?"

She looked at a datapadd and said, "We'd need 10 tons of crystals to get us home, and 500 kilotons of deuterium to get us there, however, we do not have the space for that much."

I considered it, "What about concentrated, B'Elanna? I could use my Q powers to condense the deuterium to a suitable amount."

She had to think about that for a few moments. "Well," she finally said, "That might work and if the engines did not explode because of it, we could probably do it. What do you think, Seven?"

"The plan is ambitious and the Borg modifications would become more efficient with a higher grade of fuel and a condensed form of fuel would be suitable. The engines would not explode," was her reply. I grinned, knowing that in her own way, she thought it was a great plan.

"Well," B'Elanna said, "I don't see why we can't give it a shot, then." I said, "OK, I'll have to see the deuterium samples we brought back and then take that and duplicate it on a massive scale, then, condense it as much as possible. What's the maximum that can be risked?"

"You should be able to take 500 kilotons and condense it to 250 kilotons without hurting it. If you can do 200 kilotons, that would be better," Seven replied. B'Elanna nodded her consent/agreement.

I pulled the lid off one of the samples and extracted it's contents. I ran a tricorder over it and said, "This is perfect as well. I wonder why there aren't a lot of species fighting over the rights to this planet."

"The neighboring space faring races were assimilated, Dragon," Seven said with a sigh. I understood her guilt. She was forced to probably help assimilate the locals at one point. I gave her a hug which she returned. Of course, I had returned the sample to it's case before hand.

I snapped my fingers and a moment later, "Engineering to Torres."

"Torres here," she replied.

"The fuel cells just registered as full and the deuterium is of a type we've never seen before. It's like it's been condensed."

"I know," she said, "How are the engines faring?"

"Considering the condensed nature of the fuel, they are at 110% efficiency now, where they were at 104% earlier!"

"Any strain on them?" I asked.

"No, Sir," was the reply, "There doesn't seem to be any at all." I nodded, "Excellent news!"

Torres told them to monitor the engines for any signs of strain and let her know the moment anything was amiss. I doubted that they would be.

"Seven," I said, "Could the Collective make use of this more efficient fuel?"

"Yes," she replied, "As you are aware, anything that enhances Borg perfection is rapidly sought out and assimilated if possible. The Collective also knows our status every time that they drop off messages and updates accordingly."

That left a problem. We were bound by the terms of the treaty to share information with the Collective if it was relevant information. But, if we gave them the condensed/compressed fuel, they would be able to increase their assimilation parties considerably.

"You are concerned," Seven said.

"He should be," B'Elanna said, "With his new fuel, we could seal the fate of thousands of humanoid species to assimilation."

I sighed, "She's right, Seven. We cannot withhold this information from the Collective, yet, ethically, we have to in order to preserve the individuality of those species that haven't been studied for assimilation possibility."

I could, of course, restore the fuel to it's natural state and erase the logs of the change, but, we couldn't take advantage of the increased speed. With the enhancement, I suspected that the trip had just been shortened by several months, if not more!

In the meanwhile, I called up to the bridge and ordered that we resume course for Earth at Warp 6. We could feel the engines as they increased power and a definite lurch as we went into warp. It wasn't much, though.

I had a short while to figure out what to do, though, unless the Borg sent a ship early. I didn't expect it, though, given the news that the inquiry was probably going to be called off. Obviously, I didn't know one way or the other and I didn't want to find out by using my newer powers. While I really didn't see anything wrong with using the Q powers to help enhance the drives to get us home quicker, I still was uneasy about cutting the trip short altogether.

I had gotten the feeling over the last few months that the crew had finally come to terms with the overall situation of being stranded in the Delta Quadrant and had learned to actually enjoy the trip home and to study what's here. just the data we're bringing back with us would keep the folks back home busy for decades as well as to figure out what areas of space to possibly avoid. Fortunately, the Borg Alliance was also helping in that respect. Seven had told me that the Collective was actually sending star charts to the Federation of the Delta Quadrant. Seeing how our data has some pretty interesting holes in it from the shortcuts we had taken (or given), it was rather thoughtful of our Borg allies. We certainly couldn't call them "friends", not after Wolf 359 and the massive loss of life that ensued before the Enterprise-D had stopped them. That was the only real time that I feared having to teleport back through time to avoid assimilation, but, I ended up taking the pleasure of pinning the Medal of Honor on Will Riker and crew. Picard received one as well, obviously.

However, that was 30,000 light years away and several years in the past. As my duty shift had finally ended, I went back to my quarters and relieved Gabrielle's baby-sitter.

"Thank you, Lt. Carey, again, for taking the time to watch the kid," I said, "What's your pleasure this time? Holodeck time or replicator rations?"

"I haven't even used the ones you gave me last time, sir," he replied, "But, I could use the holodeck time. There's this girl I've been seeing lately and she's wanting to spend some time in the holodeck."

I raised an eyebrow, "That's good news, Joe. Since you watched Gabrielle for 6 hours, I hereby authorize 6 additional holodeck hours to be used whenever you want.

"Computer, increase Lt Joe Carey's holodeck time by 6 hours."

"Acknowledged," the computer said.

"Thank you, sir!" was his reply. I figured that he'd put the time to good use and I was usually generous when it came to "paying" the babysitters. That's why a lot of the crew wanted the privilege of watching Gabrielle, I suppose. Once in a while, I found an exceptional babysitter, though, and made an official notation in their files. While it might result in some ribbing, it looked good on performance reports and possible promotion, when a slot became available.

Also, by then, the remaining crew of the destroyed Equinox had received several good performance reports and I thought that maybe they could regain their ranks...well, at least ensign ranks. I had talked to Janeway about it before, but, she was still pissed at them for following illegal orders. I couldn't blame her, though. They did violate the Prime Directive and were on the receiving end of some of my most blistering dressing downs. By the time I was done chewing them, they were glad to be formally dealt with by Janeway, who obviously retained the ability to hand out the actual punishments. I fully supported her decision to strip them of rank and told them that they could expect no appeals as their guilt by association and the formal charges was indisputable.

But, also, since then, my temper had cooled down and after informally reviewing their progress while on board, they had earned a second chance. Janeway, however, would be a tough sell, and I decided to wait until she was in a good mood to broach the subject. It helped that I trusted them to watch my adopted child and Seven also trusted them, giving them "acceptable" opinions afterwards. Seven is not one that gives trust to any person she comes across, it certainly has to be earned. That worked in those crewmen's favor in the long run.

Gabrielle was glad to see me and gave me a hug. She didn't care if I was just the Dragon or a member of the Q. I was her daddy and that's what counted the most to me.

"Hi, kiddo," I said, "Did you have fun with Uncle Joe?" She nodded her head, but pulled up her pants leg to reveal a minor scrape.

"Owie," she said. Carey explained, "She skinned herself a little while ago, but, it wasn't too bad. I washed it out right away."

"Why didn't you take her to sickbay?" I asked.

"I felt that it wasn't that bad. She didn't bleed much and didn't even cry when I washed the injury, sir," he replied. I nodded, "Well, next time, please take her to see the EMH when I'm on an away mission. Fortunately, this is superficial so, no harm done. I'll walk her over in a few moments. You're dismissed, with thanks."

He visibly relaxed. He probably thought that he was going to get chewed or something. I couldn't chew him for what was a kid's minor goof. Now, if the injury had been more serious, I would have to re-consider letting him babysit again.

"Well," I said, "Why don't we let the Doctor take a look at that?" She whimpered a little bit.

"Gabrielle," I said, "The Doctor is your friend. He only wants what's best for you. It won't hurt, I promise." She merely kept hugging me.

I walked her to the sickbay and saw the EMH real quick.

"It's just a scrape," he said, handing me a dermal regenerator, "Run this over the scrape for a few seconds and she'll be as good as new." He also produced a small sucker for her, which surprised me.

I turned the regenerator on and slowly ran it over the injury for a few moments. Gabrielle merely watched as the skin healed. I turned the device off and ran a finger over the area.

"I told you it wouldn't hurt," I said smiling. "No hurt," she said, then giggled, "Tickles."

"That's a good girl, Gabrielle," the EMH said, taking a quick look at the area for himself, "Sir, you'll be happy to know that the injured crewman will make a full recovery. I've released him to his quarters and he may return to duty in 72 hours."

I nodded, "That is good news, Doctor. I am glad that he'll make a speedy recovery. I'll stop in and visit later on."

"Man hurt?" said Gabrielle.

"Yes, sweety," I said, "He got a big owie helping Daddy pick up some pretty rocks for the ship. Doctor says that he's going to be OK. You want to come with me to visit him? He'd like to see you, I think."

"Aww," she said, "Want to visit. Daddy make him better?" I chuckled. Gabrielle was always interested in meeting new people and seeing the ship. Then, what she said sank in.

"She catches on quick, doesn't she?" the Doctor said. I nodded before asking Gabrielle, "Gabby, did you mean how I helped you just now or something else?"

"Others," she said simply. Then, I knew. She had seen me applying my healing touch on some other crewmen in the past. I was hoping that she'd forget about that because I didn't want her thinking that she was too different from Seven and I.

"It's her cranial implants," the Doctor said, "They store all the memories for Borg, for the most part. She's learned somehow to access those memories."

"Will that be a problem for her in later life, Doctor?" I asked.

"To be honest, I don't know. Maybe Seven knows," he replied, "The Borg normally don't have infants around, as you know."

"Let's go see Momma," I said to Gabrielle. She smiled and jumped off the biobed, but, I caught her before she landed, "Not so fast," I scolded gently, "You could get hurt doing that. Momma would not be happy."

"You've given up on not calling Seven her mom?" the EMH asked.

"Seven got used to the idea, finally," I said, "We talked about it a few nights ago and she said that it was acceptable to her."

"That's good," the EMH replied after a moment's thought, "Gabrielle does see you as her parents, so, it's natural." I nodded, "Actually, Doc. I like the title 'daddy' more than being called 'Admiral' or 'sir' every time someone opens their mouth. It's a precious title to have, Doc."

He looked lost in thought, "I can see your point." I knew that he was thinking about his holographic daughter and family. Oddly enough, when I heard that the child was dying, I mourned for the Doctor despite the illogic of mourning a hologram's "death". But, even Tuvok offered his condolences to the Doctor with the traditional "I grieve with thee."

"Doctor," I said, "You know how I feel about your daughter. I still think back and mourn her loss on your behalf."

"Thank you," the Doctor said, "I still miss her in a way. I'm grateful that you can display feelings for me since I do not have any real emotions."

"Doc," I said, "I can make you human for a day or so, if you want. It's up to you if you want to fully experience what it's like to have flesh and blood, though."

"What about my enhanced medical database?" he asked.

"Your program would be transferred into the mobile emitter, obviously. You'd be perfectly safe and your program would even be updated to include your memories and experience while human. But, before you decide, take your time and think about it."

"I intend to," the EMH replied, "But, it looks like you've got a sleeping beauty there." Sure enough, Gabrielle had fallen asleep in my arms once again. Given that she was of little weight to me, I wasn't surprised to see that she could sleep soundly while in my arms.

"I think that I should take her back to my quarters, Doc," I said, "I'll see you later."

"All right," the Doctor said and I left sickbay. It only took a few minutes to walk to my quarters and put Gabrielle in her crib. She didn't even stir when I put her down, so I figured that I was going to get some rest of my own. That was going to be interesting, though. Q usually do not sleep, yet, my body felt like it needed to.

I also had to prepare a lesson plan for the Q, and I sat down to develop the introductory lessons. I'd give it a few lessons and see how the Q family responded. I suspected that it would be Father and Son for the first couple of lessons, then, others might become curious and "pop in" for a visit.

The first few lessons didn't take much time to prepare, though, and I transferred them to individual datapadds for the early afternoon meeting. I wasn't going to run it like a class, given that the Q would probably take offense to such a setting.

I decided to lay down and relax, even if I couldn't sleep. Well, I got a surprise when I actually awoke a few hours later. I did not think that I required sleep, but, I figured that my body, after several thousand years of needing regular sleep couldn't break that habit overnight.

Gabrielle was awake and playing quietly in her crib, as she always did when she woke up before I did.

"Hi, Gabrielle," I said cheerfully. She looked up at me and raised her arms. I picked her up and carried her over to her changing table. Three minutes later, she had on a fresh diaper and I got rid of the old one.

It was going on 1100 hours and I had the day off. Of course, I was available at a moment notice, but, for the time being, I altered my clothing to a more casual set and settled down to play with the kid for a while. She really enjoyed it when I took the time to be with her. With my duty schedule, it was sometimes hard to fit in an hour or two of "fun".

The door chimed and I called out, "Come in, it's open." My visitor was Seven, fortunately. Not that I minded other visitors, but, I really enjoyed seeing her.

"Good morning, Seven," I said.

"Good morning, Dragon," she replied and bent over to see the youngster. As always, she became less severe and imposing around Gabrielle, "Good morning, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle gave Seven a hug as reply, which was warmly returned.

"What brings you by, Seven?" I asked.

"I just desired to spend some 'quality time' with you and the child," she replied, "It's been a few days since I was able to visit." I nodded, "I'm always glad to see you. Gabrielle misses you when you're not around." I gave her a kiss on the cheek as well, which she returned happily.

"You're in a good mood, Seven," I noticed.

"I had a pleasant regeneration cycle. I am pleased that the warp engines are operating at an efficient level," she replied.

"I know. Hopefully, things will work out all right. The Borg will be surprised that the engines are operating better than they intended," I said, "but, I am still worried that they will demand to know how we did it. They'll be here tomorrow to drop off any messages and pick up others. I can't hide the truth from them, anymore than I could hide it from you."

"While the Collective will want the information, they can't use it," she replied, "I examined the condensed fuel and it cannot be duplicated easily. The Collective would eventually decide that the information is irrelevant and discard it."

I should have known that. The Collective doesn't really have the patience or desire to look into things thoroughly. That's their biggest weakness, but, when they want something that's already been developed, they are like the highwaymen of old...they'll just take it for themselves. I'm glad that they realized that I was not willing to be assimilated and they couldn't adapt to my brute strength. Yes, my breath weapons were basically useless after a few blasts, but, even their personal shields were little match against my full strength.

Besides, in the previous year, I gave into curiosity and had the EMH extract blood samples from me as well as Seven's nanoprobes. The nanoprobes couldn't attach themselves to the cell lining to assimilate the cell. The same thing occurred with Species 8472. That meant that I couldn't be assimilated. But, what was interesting...the white blood cells that had also been extracted destroyed the nanoprobes. Seven and I were both surprised at that, but, I had to be sure. I asked Seven to try to assimilate me. She reluctantly complied, but, as I thought, while I felt the injection itself, my unique nature and immortality prevented the nanoprobes from carrying out their mission. That proved that I was safe from assimilation. That data was transferred to the Collective and they were obviously disappointed at the time. But, the Queen knew that as long as _Voyager_ was left alone, the Collective had nothing to worry about and their perfection was unharmed.

They did not know that I had become a member of the Q, though. That would mean, though, that if the Collective had decided that the alliance was no longer relevant and moved against the Federation, I'd put the Borg into the darkest parts of intergalactic space on the other side of the Universe where they couldn't harm any other species. They'd have the only stars for literally billions of light years while copies of their parent stars were needed to maintain the overall galactic gravity. Yes, it would doom them eventually, and that would be a suitable vengeance for the lives destroyed or assimilated. I'd hate to do that to the Collective, given their recent track record with not only us, but, back home.

Even Picard had to grudgingly approve of the alliance as it did bring about an end to the war we missed. It was actually interesting in a way. We had started picking fragments of subspace messages from the Federation dating back to the war's early days , but, those were far and few between, given the distance they'd traveled. Seven couldn't begin to makes heads or tails out of some of the messages. We even picked up our own initial messages from eight years ago and they were badly degraded, so we knew that they wouldn't reach the Federation.

"Seven," I said, "How would you like to assist me on a project today?"

"I would probably enjoy that as my duty shift doesn't begin until 1800 hours. What is the project?" she asked.

"Well," I replied, "I was asked to instruct the child of the Q in how to use his immense powers in a responsible manner. His people are quite concerned, yet, his parent's are protecting him for some reason and he's not learned what he should.

"He's scheduled to be here at 1400 hours and I figure that the overall time for today will not take more than two hours. His father may join us as well."

"The same one who gave you your powers?" she asked. I nodded, "Yes, he is. He tends to be a pain most of the time, especially around Captain Picard, but, for some reason, he's taken an affinity to this crew. Maybe he feels sorry for us being stuck way out here and wants to make sure we're safe.

"He'd told me a few days ago that the Q approve of the alliance with your former cousins in the Collective, so I wonder if the Q had pushed the Collective into keeping the agreement. They did agree too fast to the idea, now that I think about it."

"The Collective doesn't need long to reach a decision, Dragon," Seven said, "Why debate a subject when there are several billion drones each merged into the Collective? It was a sound choice on their part and they felt that they owed us for saving them when this crew should of, by rights, abandoned us to the not so tender mercies of Species 8472."

I grinned, knowing that she was right. The Collective never needs to take an hour debating the best course of action when they only needed a few milliseconds to decide. We took a huge risk before Kes left us in helping the Collective defeat 8472. We should have been assimilated afterwards, but, crafty Janeway had a plan to counter them. But, it took the Icheb Virus outbreak for the Collective to realize that we are better off as individuals with our "small minds" that could reach different tactical and medical conclusions.

I handed Seven my lesson plan for the day and she perused it for several moments before commenting, "Efficient, but, it's lacking a 'human touch'".

"I can't tailor a lesson plan like a normal class, Seven," I replied, "We're dealing with beings that, according to the records of the Enterprise-D haven an immense IQ. This is designed to be more of a refresher course than anything else. While the main body of the Q are invited to attend, this is geared towards teaching the youngest member how to be more responsible. I, for one, don't want him accidentally destroying a solar system or entire region of space. The effects would be horrific, to say the least. Either the political balance of a region would be destroyed, or an entire section of the galaxy could slowly spin away from the main body as the gravitational links are severed. If the severed arm were to collide with the main body, the result would be seen in other galaxies, similar to what was seen on Earth in the early part of 2002, when we saw direct evidence of a massive collision that actually left a trail of young, blue stars in a distant galaxy.

"Also, a 'human touch' is not really needed, Seven."

"I see," she replied, "I will assist you."

By then, it was close to 1400 and a flash of light announced the arrival of two Q members, the one who had been visiting and a second one, who I assumed was the son.

"You're early, Gentlemen," I said with a smile, "I appreciate that. It gives us a few minutes to get to know each other.

"I am the Dragon, a being who holds several interesting powers, which I'm sure that you already are aware of, so I will not brag about them. The female next to me is my assistant, Seven of Nine, former Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01, you may call her Seven of Nine or Seven. A word of advice, young Q...Do not make the mistake of provoking her as she will not hesitate to deflate the famous Q ego in a flash."

The elder Q said, "I'd like you to meet my son, Q. He's a young, brash fellow, like I was at his age, but, lacking in some discipline."

I held out my hand to the younger Q, which was taken for a handshake. I nodded and assessed him at the same time. His grip was firm, but, not overpowering. He then took Seven's human hand and kissed that gently.

She wasn't impressed, but, neither did she scowl at him.

"Today's lesson will be a short one and will last a couple of hours. I've taken the liberty of providing datapadds with what we will go over as well as introductory homework, which I expect to be done when due. Please feel free to take them with you at the end of the day's lesson. However, remember that they are property of the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet. Losing them is not advisable, guys.

"You'll find me to be a tough teacher who demands that the students give their all. If you get chewed out, it's business, nothing personal. If you are turned into a Denebian Slime Worm or Gagh, again, it's strictly business. Outside of these instructional settings, I will be available for friendly advice with maybe a life lesson tossed in on the side.

"Other members of your race are welcome to partake in these lessons. All they need do is show up. Shall we begin?"

"I'm ready," said the younger Q. His father nodded.

"Ok," I said, "Just so that I don't get confused here, I need to assign a nickname to you both. The father Q will be known as Q1 and the son will be known as Q2. Fair enough?"

Both nodded. "Great," I said, "Q2, what does it mean to be a Q?"

"It means that the Q have absolute power over everything. We can get what we want by merely thinking it into being. We can rule the universe."

"OK," I said, "That's an interesting answer, but, what about the responsibility that comes with this power? Q1, would you explain that, please."

"While the Q have absolute power, we need to use it in a manner of great responsibility. We cannot use use our powers to annoy or harass other lesser species."

I said, "But, Q1, you've repeatedly done just that in the past, haven't you? Even to the point where the Council felt it necessary to punish you severely for a while, correct? Before you answer, though, I bring this up as an example only, not an indictment of past deeds."

"Yes," he replied, "I'm guilty as charged. The Council did, indeed, strip me of my powers and immortality because I was being a fool and embarrassed them. I was placed on board the Enterprise-D to serve out my sentence, where I was met with hostility and loathing by the entire crew, except for their android, Data. He risked his existence twice, to save me from the vengeance of the Calimarian. I was in his debt."

"Did you ever repay Data?" Seven asked.

"A Q always repays their debts, Seven," Q1 said, "I gave him the gift of laughter for a while. He thought that I was going to make him into a human being, but..."

"You didn't want to curse him with true humanity, right?" I asked, "Relax, Q1, I know the story. There was an insult there, but, we're big enough to shrug that off without taking offense. But, you learned a little bit of the penalty for failing to live up to the responsibility that must come with power."

He nodded, "I will not forget that."

"Father," the younger one said, "We're Q, why should we have to be responsible for our actions?"

"Because, son," he said, "Our actions can affect entire star systems or galaxies, that's why."

"Let me demonstrate," I said. I walked over to the display console and said, "Computer, display figure Dragon Lesson 1 and animate."

The computer displayed a spiral galaxy labeled "Galaxy NCJ-1664". I provided the narration.

"As you can see, you have a typical spiral galaxy, slowly spinning on an axis, each star bound by mutual gravity. As we watch the eons pass, something happens."

An arm of the galaxy separated from the main body after a series of stellar supernovae occurred.

"This is what happened when a Q went on a rampage and destroyed the stars along a key gravity point, killing trillions of intelligent beings in the process. Computer, pick one star with planets near it moments before it supernovas and display in a window as it explodes."

A side window opened to display a planetary system with several planets capable of supporting life. As we watched, the star exploded with little warning. The entire planetary system was wiped out, except for the extreme outer planets. Those were jolted out of their orbits to become rogue planets.

As time passed, the severed "arm" first formed a miniature galaxy.

"As you can see, the baby galaxy is beginning to show signs of rotation as it drifts near the parent galaxy. Little do the rising and falling civilizations know...the baby is on a collision course with the inner part of the larger galaxy. The ones on the far side will be spared the destruction. But, for countless others, their doom is sealed."

The baby galaxy began a slow collision with the parent. Countless stars of all shapes and sizes collided with one another, triggering super massive supernovae in the process. In it's wake, young, blue stars were forming from the remains of the destroyed stars. The baby tore through the parent for several hundred thousand light years until, finally, the baby was assimilated back into the original galaxy, which had lost it's spiral shape and become a hideous teeming mass with little resemblance to a galaxy.

The computer information said that over 70 Trillion humanoid species and civilizations were destroyed in either the collision or wars that had started as a direct or indirect result of the collision as regional balances of power were altered. In the space of five minutes, we watched several million years going by.

"What would happen to a Q who actually did this?" I asked.

Q1 answered, "That's fairly easy. The responsible Q would be punished. He could be banished from this universe, never to return and without hope of pardon or parole. He could be executed for his crime. He could be sentenced to live out a mortal's existence on one of the doomed worlds.

"Sadly, what you have shown us actually happened. One of our members caused such a tragic event during the time with Earth hadn't been formed. You had mentioned to Seven a galaxy that was spotted from Earth, right?"

I nodded and he continued, "What you had seen was the end result of that former Q's actions. The council records showed that the Q was forever banished from this universe. He's in another universe that has aged to the point that it is in the final stage of a 'Big Crunch'. Already, it's a fraction of the size it was when he was banished there. Within a million or so years, that universe will be contracted to the size of an Earth grapefruit, in two million to 2.5 million, it will be contracted to the size of an Earth ping-pong ball, where it will remain, totally stable for eternity."

Q2 blanched, as did Seven and I. "Harsh penalty," she said. I nodded, "Yes, but, I would have to agree with this council. This Q had caused unimaginable death and destruction. That Q got what he deserved and while sad, he will be paying for his crimes.

"The bottom line here, is that the Q in question forgot his responsibilities, and the results were horrendous. While a Q obviously in a powerful being, it is important that the Q look after the mortals. I spent most of my life helping mortals, even knowing that they would eventually grow old and die."

I continued on with the lessons for about 30 more minutes and then called a halt to the proceedings. To Q2, I assigned a few small tasks while the older Q would supervise the projects, yet, not interfere. I also assigned them to take place in intergalactic space where, if anything were to go wrong, the risk of mortals being harmed was virtually nil. Q1 would monitor his son's progress through the lessons, but, I was evaluating the both of them.

"OK, Q," I said, "barring any red alerts or anything else that requires my attention, I expect you both to return in one earth week, same time. With all assignments done, obviously. Those will be turned over to Seven of Nine upon completion. You will receive 'extra credit', if they are turned in at least two earth days before the next meeting. You both will be quizzed in one month's time, with a final exam at the end of the course. Other quizzes will be factored in on an as needed basis and without warning. Please inform your fellow citizens that if they wish to join, they have until next week to decide.

"Again, feel free to take the datapadds with you. Do not lose them in a supernova or otherwise let them come to harm, please. Class is dismissed, guys. Thanks for coming by."

Both Qs looked at their respective datapadds and examined their assignments. I'd given them some easy things to do that wouldn't take long. My problem was actually assigning them stuff that they wouldn't see as an insult. Fortunately, I had assigned alternative work for both to do, which, if they went ahead and did those as well as the primary assignments, I'd give added credit. Seven would have her work cut out for her, but, I was testing her informally. If she could teach the Q successfully, I'd make a notation to have her assigned to the Academy as the first recovered Borg instructor. With some luck, I could get an actual drone or two to be guest speakers for the Collective, but, I wasn't ready to test the Alliance that much just yet.

The younger Q left with his assignments while the older one stayed.

"Something I can do for you, Q?" I asked.

"You've made an impression on the kid," he replied, "I'm grateful, for the time being. Hopefully, these lessons will sink in. If they don't, the council might have to take more drastic measures that neither of us would like."

I nodded, "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to try to teach your son, Q. He'll walk away from this a better higher being. Over the next few lessons, I'm going to have various crewmembers stopping in to be guest teachers. Seven is my full-time assistant since it takes a lot to tick her off." The latter I said as I placed an arm around her.

"Oh," I continued, "Have you ever seen me giving someone a royal chewing out?" Q nodded, "I kept tabs on you for many decades, actually. I've seen you reduce captains to near tears at times." I laughed, "I bet you did! There were some memorable ones, I'll say that. I recall giving a fairly brash ensign a dressing down and be became a strong captain due to that."

"Ahh, Jean-Luc," Q said, "Yeah, I heard that lecture you gave him. No wonder he feels free to dress me down when he wants to."

"Well, my point is that, if you think mine are bad," I said, "Don't cross Seven either. I've been on the wrong end of a few blistering comments myself."

"Only because you earned them, love," she replied. I squeezed her for a moment, "I know, Seven, that's why I let you have your say. If I goof up, I expect to be told, protocol or not. I've never chewed someone for presuming to tell me off."

"Au Contraire," Q said, "You've bitten off several stinging replies and somehow, delayed a few people's careers because you took what they said personally."

I glared, "Maybe because they crossed a fine line or didn't know when to back down, Q. I'm not above breaking someone's career when they said what they had to say, but, continued to 'beat the dead horse' for months afterward. Yes, I make mistakes and if someone wants to say something about it, they can, but, don't pester me about it afterwards."

By then, it was getting close to Beta Shift and I had the Captain's Chair for the duration. Gabrielle's babysitter was due at any moment, but, I had an idea.

I pulled Seven aside and asked, "How would you feel if Q2 watched Gabrielle at some point. It doesn't have to be now, but, if he can handle the tiny responsibility of taking care of Gabrielle for a shift or two, that will mean that he can handle much larger responsibilities."

"Taking care of Gabrielle is not a tiny responsibility," Seven objected, "But, your plan has merit and I think it will succeed."

"I know that taking care of the kid is no small responsibility to us, Seven, but, to a Q, it's tiny," I said, "And, thank you for your approval. We'll try him out next week, if that's OK." She nodded, "That's acceptable, but, if he allows her to be damaged..."

"I'll be taking a number as you'll dress him down faster than an assimilation, right?"

"You know me too well," she said with a small grin.

"Q," I said, "I got a proposal for you. How do you think your son would handle a tiny taste of responsibility?"

"He'd probably enjoy watching your br...eh, child." I glared at him again, "Be glad that you changed what you were about to call Gabrielle."

He held his hands up, but, I grinned to show that no offense was taken as none was intended. "My back still twinges when I think of that slam you dished out last night," he said.

"I didn't clobber you that hard, relatively speaking," I said. Seven said, "Just hard enough to throw us one tenth of a degree off course."

"I could have thrown Q through the ship, though," I said with a grin. Seven merely frowned, "I'm still somewhat recovering from that accident a while ago."

"Annika," I said, reverting to her human name for a moment, "I deeply regret hurting you that way. If I could erase it from history, I would." I caressed her cheek and she smiled. "It's all right," she said, "If you erased that from history, we wouldn't be together, would we?"

Q cleared his throat, "Well, I need to be going anyway. Until next week." He left in his usual flash of light as Seven and I sat down.

"You're too good for me, Seven," I said, "But, I love you just the same."

"I know," she said. The communicator beeped.

"Janeway to the Dragon. Report to the bridge, please."

"I'm on my way," I said. Seven and I both headed for the bridge and a few minutes later, we stepped out and, on the viewscreen, was a small Borg sphere. They were a little bit early, but, that was OK.

"Time to get the mail?" I asked.

"We think so," Janeway said, but, they haven't answered our hail. I raised an eyebrow and hit my code.

"Dragon to Borg ship. State your intentions," I said.

"We are the Borg. Prepare to assimilate recent messages from the Alpha Quadrant and we will relay any messages to the Alpha Quadrant," their collective voice said. I nodded and sighed with relief.

"Mr. Kim," Janeway said, "Begin transfer of the recent letters home."

"Yes, Ma'am," he said. A few moments later he said, "Transfer complete."

"The Collective will return in 14 days for further relays," the Borg stated and the little ship left via transwarp.

"It looks like Mr. Neelix will be busy, Captain," Harry said, "There are a lot of messages this time around."

"Well," I said, "Let's not keep the crew waiting, Mr. Kim. I know that I'm expecting some form of letter from Starfleet regarding the admiral's visit here."

"Yes, sir," he said, "In fact, it looks like that was the first one in the stack. Shall I transfer it to a padd for you?"

"Make it so," I said. Janeway merely smiled at in Picardian reference. A moment later, he handed me the letter and I asked if I could borrow the ready room. Permission was granted and Seven and I went in to read the letter(s).

Stardate: 55013.4

From: Admiral Paris, Starfleet HQ

To: The Dragon

RE: Results of Fleet inquiry into conduct of the _Voyager_ crew.

My friend,

It gives me great pleasure to inform you that all charges and specifications have been dropped against Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay. We have even expunged your recent reprimand given the unusual circumstances.

This was done without prejudice and there is still the possibility of future inquiries upon your return home, but, for now, you may rest easier. We have reprimanded Vice-Admiral McHenry for his actions against your captain and crew. A copy is attached for your consideration.

Tell my son and daughter-in-law that their pictures were warmly received by my family as well as B'Elanna father, who sends you his deepest gratitude.

Godspeed home, Admiral.

Admiral Paris.

"Impressive," Seven said. I nodded and smiled, "Let's give the Captain the good news, shall we?"

"Seven to Janeway. Please report to your ready room. Please bring Commander Chakotay as well."

A few seconds later, both officers entered the room. By then, I had altered my uniform to admiral, which both noticed immediately and stiffened to attention.

I sighed, "At ease, folks. I have here a letter from Admiral Paris. I've got some good news for both of you. The inquiry has been officially dropped, effective immediately. You're both off the hook." I handed Janeway the padd so she could confirm it for herself. I could almost see the added stress finally bleeding off as she visibly relaxed. She really smiled for the first time in days. Chakotay was also happy to read the message.

"Thank you for telling us, Admiral," Janeway said, "I am relieved to see that someone came to their senses, finally."

"Captain," I said, "Don't count those chickens yet. When we return home, we'll still have to face some hard questions."

I retrieved the padd from Janeway and looked over the reprimand against McHenry. It was a career staller, unfortunately. I entered a few side comments after dismissing the two senior officers for relay during the next datastream. Those would also be entered into his file that, while not erasing the splotch on his record, would be favorable enough to partially counter the rather interesting "dressing down" he'd received.

I also switched hats back to Commander as well. Seven was actively watching like she usually does. The rapport between the two of us had grown closer since the accident and she was learning how I operate as well.

We eventually returned to my quarters to see Gabrielle and her sitter waiting for us. Gabrielle looked like she'd had a problem of some sort.

She looked at me and reached over to be held. As contact was made, my enhanced powers kicked in and I saw something that I thought would never happen on board this ship.

"Seven," I asked, "Would you take Gabrielle for a walk? I'd like to talk to the sitter, alone. I'll call you when I'm finished." Seven nodded, but, there was concern on her face.

"Ensign," I said, "Come inside." I was having a difficult time holding my anger back.

As soon as the door closed, I wheeled on the hapless crewman.

"Did you think for one second that I wouldn't find out, Ensign Smith?"

"Find what out, sir?" he asked.

"Do not lie to me, Ensign! Seven and I had made a pact that never would that child be spanked or otherwise abused. As soon as Gabrielle made contact with me, I knew the truth. I'm going to let you explain your actions and if you so much as hide one little detail, you will quickly find out how angry I can get."

He quickly paled, seeing that I had switched back to full admiral. He didn't say anything.

I took a deep breath to calm myself and said, "Don't you have any explanation, Ensign? Any excuse at all?" He shook his head.

"You are relieved of duty, then. You will confine yourself to your quarters until such time as I see fit to recommend a punishment to the Captain. You are hereby prohibited from being my child's sitter again. Consider yourself on report.

"And, if I ever hear of you assaulting a member of this crew again, you will be stripped of rank and confined to the brig! She is a defenseless child, Ensign. How dare you presume to punish her without my or Seven's authorization?"

I subjected the man to the verbal keelhauling of his career and by the time I was done chewing him several minutes later, the door chimed and Seven entered. I'd never seen her so angry as she handed the child to me. The ensign was already scared out of his wits, but, he saw the look on the normally impassive drone's face and knew right then and there that he'd better wish for assimilation.

She then laid into the man like I'd never seen her do before and before she was done, she had him backed against the wall and her assimilation tubes were fully extended. I had to carefully pull her back. "Easy, Annika," I said, "It's not worth it. He's already on report and confined to his quarters. He'll never babysit on board this ship again. We need to let Chakotay or the captain handle this according to protocol. But, to be honest, if he even touches a member of this crew in anger again, I'll send him to the Collective myself." That got the crewman shaking badly and he said, "Please...don't let me be assimilated. I'm sorry that I lost my temper with your daughter. I'll stay as far away from her as possible." It sounded sincere.

"You're dismissed, Ensign. Confine yourself to quarters until informed otherwise. Get out of our sight!" He left so fast that the door almost didn't open in time. Seven then started crying softly and I hugged her and Gabrielle.

"Did you access her implants?" I asked Seven. She nodded, "He abused Gabrielle."

"I know, Seven," I said, "My powers must have accessed her implants as well. I just gave that man the dressing down he deserved, but, you certainly out-do me when it comes to a dressing down. We both need to put it in the report for the Captain and Chakotay. As much as I'd like to dole out the sentence/punishment, it's best to let a neutral person handle it, and this is what Chakotay and Janeway have to deal with, mainly Chakotay, though."

`We spent the next hour calming down and writing the report before sending it off. It was handled quickly, though. A few hours later, we were summoned to the Captain's ready room. She had the ensign escorted by security as well.

Janeway said coldly, "Ensign. Is this report true?" He nodded. "Do you have anything to say before I pass sentence?" He shook his head no.

"You have been charged with child abuse and assaulting a member of this crew. Based on the evidence, I find you guilty as charged. You are hereby stripped of rank and sentenced to 10 days in the brig. You will then be on probation for five years or until we reach Earth, whichever comes first." She removed his pip and handed it to me. He was escorted to the brig by Tuvok. "Is that a suitable sentence, sir?" she asked afterward.

"More than suitable, Captain," I said. Seven nodded while holding Gabrielle. Gabrielle was still somewhat shaken by the whole day, but, our love for the little girl would smooth over any lingering pain. Janeway asked if she could hold Gabrielle and Seven, of course, handed the kid over to "Aunt Kathryn".

Almost immediately, Gabrielle hugged her and said, "Thank you, Aunt Kathy." Janeway melted for a moment and hugged her back, "You're welcome, Gabrielle. I'm sorry you had to be put through this, though. That bad man will not hurt you again."

"Bad man give me owie," Gabrielle said. Seven looked impassive again, but, her emotions were raging. I didn't need my powers to see that, though. I squeezed her cybernetic hand in support before retrieving Gabrielle. Janeway dismissed us and we went back to my quarters for a while.

"We're going to screen more carefully, Seven," I said, "This was a situation waiting to happen, I think. Everyone was so willing to babysit that we trusted everyone. No more. There are some people that we will trust right away, but, others will be screened. With my enhanced powers, that's not a problem.

"I'm sorry, though, that this happened. It shouldn't have and I should have been more in tune with what's happening with the kid."

Gabrielle merely hugged me, in her own way, I think she was saying that she didn't bear any grudge as we walked to sickbay. I wanted the Doctor to take a look and make sure that she was all right. Seven was calming down as well and already her impassive features had come back, so, I knew that she'd be OK

The stop in sickbay only lasted for a few minutes as the EMH did a quick scan and found no lasting harm was done to Gabrielle, but, he probably would have a few words to say to the passenger sitting in the brig.

Heck, I figured that he'd have a rough time after he got out of the brig. I knew that Ensign Wildman would probably tell the guy to stay away from Naomi as well. I still couldn't believe that someone on board would do that to Gabrielle, knowing full well that they'd kiss their career advancement good-bye. As far as I was concerned, that former ensign would never get a rank above Ensign if I had anything to say about it.

However, his demotion created a second ensign slot to be filled and I had some members of the Equinox crew in mind for promotion. They'd served a long enough sentence, I figured.

By then, though, we'd gone back to our quarters and Gabrielle was acting tired, so, Seven took a turn feeding her while I drafted a request for the captain to consider. I was basically requesting that two former senior staff of the Equinox be returned to the rank of ensign. I could order Janeway to do so, but, we had a long standing agreement where I'd stay out of those decisions except to recommend. If she did not want to, I wouldn't force her to.

An hour or so later, Gabrielle was sleeping, my request was done and Seven and I settled in for the night. She actually asked to sleep over instead of regeneration and I certainly told her that she didn't have to ask my permission. I replicated some sleepwear for her, just in case.

I transmitted my request to the captain's "in box". Also, the Captain had agreed to a private request and I was able to take the night off instead of doing the Beta Shift, which I would do the next night. She had realized that I needed to spend time with Gabrielle and Seven.

Janeway always looked out for the welfare of her crew, which I appreciated, but, she was also a strict captain, and, since we'd been stranded here, she'd learned to handle ship's matters without any real guidance from Starfleet. I had originally come on board as an observer, nothing more, only to be dragged along with the ship to the Delta Quadrant and many thousands of light years out of range of my teleportation abilities. I'm basically limited to interplanetary teleports...or was until Q showed up, but, at the time, I was just as stuck.

Seven and I had a long talk that night before she went off to bed She had actually started getting used to the notion of sleeping instead of regeneration. However, she was still somewhat upset at what happened to Gabrielle, but, the time I spent holding her actually improved her mood considerably. I spent the rest of the evening laying down and pondering what I wanted to do. The trouble that started it all had been concluded. Q was behaving himself rather well and I was beginning to consider holding onto my new powers. While Q might be puzzled why I'd choose to remain here when I could leave at any time, I couldn't bring myself to just pack my bags and head home. It didn't mean that I couldn't leave for a day or two, but, I'm only leave long enough to let the families and friends of those we left behind know how we were doing.

Again, my body surprised me by actually falling asleep and I awoke the next morning to the sound of Gabrielle screaming. Seven had already been awakened and was trying to calm Gabrielle, who just couldn't be comforted.

I walked/ran over and placed my hand on her. It turned out that the poor kid had suffered a nightmare triggered by the events of the day before.

"Let me take her, Seven," I said calmly, "She'll be all right in a few minutes." I took Gabrielle and started the long process of calming her down without using my powers except in a passive way.

"It's OK, Gabrielle," I said soothingly, "You had a bad dream, that's all. They can be scary, but, they aren't real." She started to calm down a little bit as I walked around the cabin, but, I was concerned. She'd never had nightmares before, so, she was bound to be scared.

I ended up sitting down in my rocker and gently rocking her for a while as Seven watched with a look of anger on her face. She had figured out the cause of Gabrielle's distress and looked like she was going to head for the brig to personally assimilate the crewman. Gabrielle cried herself to sleep and I carefully put her back into her crib.

"She'll be fine," I said to Seven, "I do not want you going to the brig while you're angry. I can't stop you, but, I will ask you not to. We can go down there later on, though."

"You're afraid that I'd assimilate him, aren't you?" she asked heatedly.

"No, I'm not, Annika," I said, "He made a career killing mistake. There's no way that he can ever get above an enlisted rank. You think that Lt Kim spent a long time as an ensign, it will not even compare to how long this guy will stay at ensign. If we're stuck here for another 30 years, he'll certainly be the fleet's oldest and longest serving ensign. Assimilating him really doesn't solve anything, does it? Are you willing to forgo nearly five years of regaining your humanity, just to punish him?" That took some of her anger away, but, my intentional use of her human name was to remind her that she wasn't Borg anymore. She still might have the implants forced upon her and, yes, I'd remove them in an instant if she asked, but, she was more human now than she'd been since she was six.

"That doesn't stop me from wanting to, though," she countered.

I smiled at her, "I know, dear. I was sorely tempted to send him to a Borg vessel myself. But, it wouldn't have taught him anything, would it? The 'lesson' would be lost on him when he was assimilated. However, there's nothing to stop me from giving him a few nightmares along the lines of assimilation." I chuckled at the idea.

"That's a good idea, but, what does that mean for your example to the Q?" I heard from behind me. Q had silently appeared and without his usual flash of light.

"I wouldn't do it, Q," I replied, "You've got a point there, actually. But, if you want to use my idea on that guy, he's all yours." He grinned somewhat evilly at the prospect.

"I'm kind of impressed, again," he said, "I've punished a lot of 'lesser beings' for less, yet, you are interested in at least some mercy."

"I'm not being that merciful, Q," I said, "I have no plans of forgiving the injury to my daughter. I can overlook the physical injury, but, Gabrielle's been emotionally injured. That, I can't easily overlook. Would you overlook it if another member of the Q had intentionally harmed your son? Don't you think we'd have seen the supernova or something if you have let go of anger worthy of a Q?" He didn't answer right away.

After a few moments, he said, "I see your point, I think. We've always wondered why humans and others care so much for your offspring. But, Gabrielle is not even yours by blood."

"No, she's not, Q," Seven said, "But, she's the closest thing I'll ever have to a child." Then, I knew and my heart sank like a stone. Seven couldn't bear children unless I removed her Borg implants and nanoprobes completely. The nanoprobes would seek out and destroy the embryo almost immediately.

I turned to her and said, "I'm sorry, Annika. I never realized that you can't have children of your own." I reached over to her and gave her a hug.

"I've known all along, Dragon," she said, "Since Borg do not reproduce, my reproductive organs were removed except for..." I nodded, recalling the time she demanded that Harry remove his uniform for sex. Poor Harry, though! He must have blushed twenty shades of red as he back-pedaled away from Seven's demand. A tear slipped down her cheek and I brushed it away.

Q, much to his credit, didn't say anything snide for once. He said, "I'm touched. You know that you could correct the problem..." He didn't say anything more because, I guess he knew that the idea, while a nice thought, would probably be rejected.

Seven said, "I'm used to the thought that I can't ever have my own children. Gabrielle's a precious gift to me. I'm glad that the Dragon and I are going to raise her. Please, don't interfere." Q shook his head, "I wouldn't dream of interfering unless I was asked to. You have the word of a Q, my lady, and I've never gone back on it."

"I know," I said, "Even Captain Picard noted that you took great pains to stay off the Enterprise-D after you lost a wager. Picard still hates you, but, has a very reluctant respect for you. So does Captain Janeway now.

"Just as important, Q, I have a lot of respect for you and your kind. While Picard and others do not care for a Q, it doesn't mean that I have to share those opinions. I'll accept your word, Q, that you will not interfere in our daughter's life, unless it's asked for. She needs to lead her own life, but, I don't think we'd mind the once in a while visit from you after our lessons are completed. What's your opinion, Seven?" I had to include her in the discussion, obviously.

"I don't mind the friendly visits," she replied, "just as long as they don't interfere with her natural development. If she gets into trouble in her later years, she deals with them on her own, like we all do."

Q nodded, "I gave my word already. I would like to observe once in a while. The human way of child raising is interesting, to say the least."

"Humans have had a lot of time to learn, Q," I said, "As I stated before, you're welcome to look over any of our information in that respect as well as other species. If you know of any others from your travels, we'll trade information." He snapped his fingers and said, "I added the information of several thousand species' to your computer and copied your Federation's various methods to the continuum. It will make for interesting case studies."

"One more thing, Q, and that is a favor. If you or your friends visit those time periods, don't screw up history, please. I was there for a lot of that, especially the harder times, so, I would sense any alterations in the timeline."

"Moi??" he asked, somewhat aggrieved that I'd say that.

I replied in French, "Yes, you. Observe and not interfere, please." He nodded his agreement and disappeared before we could say anything else.

"Just how many languages do you speak?" Seven asked.

"Most of the Earth languages, even some 'dead languages' or those that have adapted over time. I also know Vulcan, some Klingonese and other Federation languages. I would say upwards of 500 languages. I would suspect that you are just as fluent in different languages, given the species assimilated."

"Not really," she replied, "The Borg found native languages to be irrelevant. Once someone was assimilated, they spoke in the Borg language, but, the Borg can collectively use other languages." I raised an eyebrow.

"Well," I said, "It really comes in handy to be multi-lingual. Many times, my knowing a language made for easier discussions. I can also absorb a working knowledge of languages after about a week of solo study, or, if there in an interpreter nearby, I can pick up the language in a few hours. Sometimes, the Universal Translator just wasn't able to pick up a language before I could, thus saving the early Federation a lot of hassle."

Seven shook her head and smiled, "I can imagine. The Borg assimilated the history of the Federation from the Enterprise, and I studied the files before I was disconnected from the Collective. It said that you were responsible for several diplomatic breakthroughs before the actual founding of the Federation and was instrumental in convincing several allied planets to join the Federation."

Just then, Gabrielle woke up and I went over to see if she was all right. Fortunately, she was just fine and only needed a diaper change and some breakfast. I changed the diaper, which was filled, while Seven got something for her to eat. She'd begun to graduate to handling her own food, but, Seven insisted that some foods still needed to be hand-fed to her. I snapped my fingers to get rid of the diaper and I figured that dumping it into a nearby star would do nicely. Considering that it would vaporize instantly was a big concern as I still wondered that the ship did with "used diapers", but, I really didn't want to know.

Gabrielle was still acting a little subdued, but, that was to be expected. She'd recover in a few days. The computer said, "Admiral, you have received a reply from Captain Janeway regarding your recent message."

"Read it," I said.

"To the Admiral: I have received your message regarding the Equinox crew and have granted your request. While I am concerned that they may not have spend enough time under sentence, Chakotay concurs with your opinion. I have promoted two members to the rank of ensign, effective at 1400 tomorrow. You may present them with their rank pips. Signed, Kathryn Janeway, Commanding _Voyager_. There is a list of the crewmen attached."

"Understood. Please transfer the entire message to a data-padd." There was a chirp that denoted compliance and I picked up the message. She'd given ranks to the former senior officers.

I walked over to the replicator and ordered two new pips. I decided that I would call them to my quarters and give them the news. Seven agreed to witness the ceremony.

"Seven," I said, "you've been with our collective for five years now. Have you ever given thought to going through the Academy or taking the entrance exam?"

"Not really," she said, "I am content to not have an actual rank. But, if you want, I can take the exam." I nodded.

"If you are content, then, I won't really push for you to take it. However, you may have to take it eventually as I would want you to consider becoming an instructor at the Academy. Your knowledge of Astrometrics is worthy of a separate course. Starfleet regulations require that you have a rank before you may become an instructor, but, there are exceptions for civilian instructors that the head of the Academy would have to approve. Not even I can waive that."

"I will take it under consideration." That meant that she liked the idea and would actually think about it.

I left written orders for those two crewmen to report to my quarters at 1330 hours, just before their shifts started. I invited Janeway and Chakotay to attend, but, stressed that it was an invite only, not an order.

Well, shortly before the appointed time, the two crewmen arrived, followed by Janeway and Chakotay, which surprised me. I knew that Janeway still harbored a grudge, both on a professional and personal level. I smiled inwardly, though.

I began my spiel: "Welcome to my quarters, gentlemen. I have taken note of your on-board activities since you were demoted out of your ranks.

"Before you worry that you're here for another chewing, you should know that when I have to do that, I do it on a one-to-one basis, not in front of others.

"As I said, I've been watching you pretty carefully since you came on board and found that your work on this ship has been excellent.

"Seven, would you approach, please."

"Certainly, Admiral," she said with two boxes and handed one to each.

"After consulting with Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay, it has been decided that, since there were two slots that opened up in the officers area to officially let you two off the hook.

"It is my pleasure to grant you the rank of ensign, with all the rights and privileges therein. Keep up the good work."

They opened their boxes and removed their rank pips. Janeway approached and placed the pips back where they belonged.

"It's time that I forgave your actions under your previous captain," she said, "You've earned your pips back and, with some luck, the other crewmembers of yours will also regain their pips. Congrats."

Chakotay said, "I have been pleased with how you both have redeemed yourselves in our eyes."

Seven then said, "Your work has been acceptable and efficient since your arrival." I raised my eyebrows, "Gentlemen...You've been given much higher praise than we can provide. Dismissed."

Well, both men thanked us for the opportunity to regain their ranks and left, probably still in shock at the surprise we had delivered to them. Seven left to attend to her duties and, after a babysitter had arrived to take care of Gabrielle, I, too, left to do my normal bridge shift. Janeway had decided to take the day off and I owed her a shift anyway from the other night when she let me handle Gabrielle's mental state as well as Seven's.

The shift as well as the next few weeks went by pretty quickly and without any major incidents


	4. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
Personal log Stardate 55030 Things have finally settled down on board. The captain and first officer have been enjoying their time back in command since I restored them to duty, but, especially since the formal end of the inquiry. They've been more relaxed even while on duty. Janeway recently enjoyed a joint adventure on the holodeck with Chakotay and, I have a feeling that they are getting quite close on a personal level. I've 'signed off' on waiving some regulations regarding relationships between people of different ranks and informed Starfleet of that fact during the recent datastream. The Borg have also dropped off more mail for the crew and, of course, there was a ton of mail for me to take care of. One was from Captain Jean- Luc Picard himself, offering some congrats on my becoming a Q. He expressed the hope that I wouldn't let the power go to my head. Will Riker gave me some friendly advice as well. Obviously, I took the time to write back. I actually felt honored that the command staff of the Enterprise-E had written. The Q have availed themselves of my lessons and, I have been pleased with their progress and understanding. Q2 has shown a remarkable improvement, enough that his father told me that the others were not so inclined to turn the lad into a pile of gagh. I've limited my usage of the Q powers to what's absolutely necessary, much to Q's disbelief. He doesn't understand why I insist on doing things the "hard way". He also doesn't understand why my body still needs sleep, despite the fact that I shouldn't need it anymore. But, I tried to explain that due to my age and the thousands of years I've needed regular sleep, I couldn't break the habit overnight and really don't want to. I have, however, visited the actual realm of the Q for a bit, on an invite from Q1. He wanted to show me what it looked like and to introduce me to the other Q. That was a trip that I will remember, though. Not only were there "roads" leading to different places in the universe, some lead through different time periods as well. Also, this confirmed a hunch that I'd been feeling since before I got my powers: I had talked to and met several Q back in ancient Greek times. They were the Greek Gods and Goddesses! That surprised me greatly, to know this bit of information. They had used their "deaths" at the hands of a warrior woman I knew, to move on with their lives. When they revealed their old faces to me, I shook my head before grasping their outstretched hands in the old way. I was also able to see how the Q knew that the Borg Alliance with us would last far into the future. I didn't want to see more than a few seconds, though, as it was a possible future, not a certainty. Q1 offered to show me the end of my natural life, but, I refused, saying that I had already decided to keep the powers of the Q. They were coming in handy. The engines have grown used to the condensed fuel mixture and we've shaved off another few months from the trip. The crew voiced their desire to explore the quadrant as much as possible, forgoing the easy trip home. I've elected to stay on board, but, it wasn't a tough decision, though. This crew is my extended family now and, I wouldn't abandon them. I have considered a private return for a few days, to assure the actual families that their loved ones are alive and well, or, to tell some that their loved ones died in the line of duty. Actually, my new policy is to deliver the bad news in person. I will not move to prevent someone's death by using my powers, not even if it's Seven. In fact, she told me that if she's "deactivated", not to revive her at all. The only exception would be Gabrielle and Naomi, who still have a fruitful life ahead of them. Seven and I have decided that Gabrielle would benefit from her Borg implants and the Doctor concurred with that observation, so, I will upgrade her implants as she gets older, until or unless she decides that she wants them to "disappear". Gabrielle's development is, to put it lightly, accelerated above "human norms". Seven and I determined that part of this is due to Gabrielle's implants, but, also her species is also one that has a higher than human norm IQ from birth. I know that she's already into more advanced sentences and, I believe that within a few years, at most, she'll be at Naomi Wildman's stage of development, and that was quite advanced. Naomi adores Gabrielle and I think that the feeling is mutual. Fortunately, Ensign Wildman is one of my most trusted sitters and is in line for a promotion at the next cycle. However, I'm not going to recommend anyone for promotion for a while, preferring to let the normal chain-of-command handle that process. I've stepped on it enough for a while and I do not need to have the captain getting upset at constant "end runs" around the proper chain. I've detected some growing discomfort at my doing that from the captain as well as XO. Gabrielle's "attacker' was released from the brig, obviously, and, he was informed that his career advancement was no longer of relevance to him. As far as I am concerned, he's dishonorably discharged from Starfleet. He can apply for reinstatement at the end of his probation. Seven is still incensed when she thinks of the incident. I'm worried, though, she's never held a grudge against anyone, not even the captain for disconnecting her from the collective. But, with the crewman, she still hasn't forgiven him. I actually have, though. Maybe, it's Annika's mothering instincts that have kicked in and she's kicking herself for not being there to protect Gabrielle. But, she will forgive him eventually. I hate to sound like a drone, but, grudges really are irrelevant in the long run. Lt(jg) Harry Kim has certainly proven that he finally earned the rank after all this time. Chakotay is very pleased with Harry's performance, but, he's not due for a performance review for another 60 days or so. I fully expect it to be a glowing review. Seven has given him a few high marks of her own, which I take into consideration as she's, by her own nature, very critical and holds us to somewhat of a Borg standard. She's had to loosen up a little over the years, but, her comments are a highly accurate barometer of how the crew operates. Her personal reviews have driven various departments to strive for, dare I say it?? Perfection. The Collective itself seems to have stopped assimilation for now. I can "check on them" when I feel a need to. I could have done it without them knowing, but, the spirit of the alliance dictated that I at least let them know. The Queen was concerned that I would interfere with their activities and while I find their activities to be heinous, they've been told that if they even think of assimilating humanity or any Federation world, I would basically throw them into another galaxy. While the rest of the Q might be somewhat afraid of the Borg (maybe the Borg could assimilate a Q?), I am not. The Borg also relayed a message that Starfleet approved my waiving of the "No relationship outside of rank" rule, citing the need to maintain morale in an exceptional circumstance, so, I expect that something could develop between the captain and first officer. Starfleet added an amendment to my order, giving me the authority to perform marriage ceremonies when needed. Obviously, they were pulling for Janeway and Chakotay as well to get together and wanted to make sure that, if needed, they could legally be married. The Doctor has decided against trying out being human for the time being. While he loved his experience borrowing Seven's implants and body for a few days, he had little interest in giving up his massed medical knowledge. The human brain just wasn't designed to hold that much information, he explained. Also, he can act as an emergency command hologram when need be. By my calculations, we are within a month of crossing into the Beta Quadrant and Neelix has planned an all hands party for the day that we cross that border. That will be a major party, I think. I know that I'm looking forward to it. As for Seven and I...we are still together almost a month after my "promotion". She's very pleased with the arrangement and, so am I.  
  
Stay tuned for the third installment of the Dragon Voyager Series!-- Splinter 


End file.
